This essay is a discourse analysis of preschool teachers' speeches about children's influence in connection with planned teaching opportunities. We chose to focus on the form of teaching that educators call ”project work” because we see that teaching is largely conducted through this form. To investigate the overall theme, we have also chosen to focus on the influence of younger children in relation to teaching with a project work form. The purpose of this study is to examine how preschool teachers talk about the importance of the balance between teaching and children's influence at a younger age. This study is based on structured interviews with preschool teachers. We have chosen to use discourse analysis that also adheres to the French philosopher, Foucault's theory of power and control, which we believe the preschool teacher can have towards children in planned teaching sessions.

The result shows that preschool teachers believe that children's influence is an important aspect of teaching. According to them, you can get children's influence in project work by planning project work based on children's interest, but that it is a challenge as not all children share the same interest. It was also found in the study that the younger children cannot have the same influence because they lack the verbal language and one must therefore be able to interpret their body language. It was also revealed in our study that stronger individuals often take over project work, which may also be due to, among other things, the verbal language. To get all the children to the teaching opportunities, the preschool teachers use the method of attracting to create an interest in the children in project work.

Based on a discourse analysis, we have been able to see in this study the concepts and discursive structures that express and motivate how children's influence is limited. In other words, we see the motivations and ways of talking about the attraction and lack of verbal language of the youngest that the preschool teachers use, which in practice characterize how their exercise of power is expressed. Even in children's environment, we have been able to see that it is the preschool teachers who possess the power and decide which material should be present and when.