The aim of this study was to examine preschool children’s acts of resistance. My hope was to gain understanding on how these acts of resistance can be understood from a power perspective. The study also intended to examine the possibilities for pedagogical development in the preschool such analysis could contribute to.

Through observations at a preschool in Stockholm three main strategies in the children’s resistance were seen – verbal resistance, physical resistance or resistance using room and space and resistance through playfulness and humor. The study’s results showed how the children’s resistance can be understood as part of their social interaction and togetherness and also as a way for children of expressing their opinion, negotiate their terms and exerting influence.

The analysis, based on Foucault theory on power, also showed hos children’s acts of resistance can be a valuable tool in making norms, expectations, power hierarchies and structures that organizes the preschool visible. This opens up for further questions about power relations in the preschool arena and children’s influence over their everyday life.