The purpose of this chapter is to investigate how two preschool teachers interpret mathematics goals in the Swedish preschool curriculum. The ways in which these preschool teachers transform, clarify and concretise the mathematics goals are analysed. The data indicates a tendency towards two different approaches of interpreting and implementing mathematics: a comprehensive approach and an academic approach. Based on these preschool teachers’ interpretation and implementation of the mathematics goals, the consequences in the form of qualification, socialisation and subjectification will be discussed.

The purpose of this article is to study and analyse how a teacher implements an outdoor realistic problem situation for children aged 4–5 in a Swedish preschool. By an ‘outdoor realistic problem situation’, I mean a situation initiated by a teacher in which children come into contact with mathematical concepts and in which the outside environment is used to encourage learning. The analysis and interpretation of the data has been influenced by the didactical situation theory and didactic contract is a key concept. The term didactic contract is seen as a metaphor, consequently a broader definition of the didactic contract is used to illustrate how the implicit and the explicit rules of a didactic contract affect the communication of mathematics between a preschool teacher and a children’s group.

Swedish early years mathematics education is currently under discussion, as it is experiencing transformation on several levels. A few years ago PISA results showed that Sweden ranks below certain highly developed countries. The importance of mathematics has consequently become a prevailing discourse, with the aim of safeguarding a top ranking for Sweden. At the same time, increased population mobility towards Sweden over past decades has resulted in the contemporary school setting being characterised by cultural and linguistic diversity. Based on a series of interviews and observations, this paper analyses how preschool teachers tend to fabricate mathematics education and the desired child in a context where conflicting discourses of school mathematics and early childhood education circulate. This study also explores whether certain children run the risk of being excluded as “other”.

Preschool teachers have the important task of stimulating children in their development and preparing them for future schooling and lifelong learning. Many Swedish preschools today are characterized by great linguistic diversity among children and teachers. Many studies highlight the great benefits that multilingual children can gain from being able to use their native languages as resources when they learn other subjects, such as mathematics. This makes multilingual preschool teachers key players in today's education policy. For this research, I interviewed and followed a multilingual preschool teacher of immigrant background, anonymised as “Kajal”. I analysed Kajal's talk about and work with mathematics to understand what she was able to do and how she shaped her subjectivity as she navigated the expectations of various actors and prevailing norms in society.