Building and construction in preschool – between policy classification and children’s learning

Abstract This article explores the positioning of building and construction activities in Swedish preschool authoritative documents from the 1950s and onwards. Drawing on the concept of classification, the study analyses how these activities have shifted from being situated within the practical-aesthetic domain – closely linked to crafts and creative expression – to becoming increasingly embedded within, first the science domain, and later the technological one. The analysis reveals a recontextualisation, where building and construction activities have retained cross-disciplinary characteristics while gradually being framed as part of preschool technology education. While this shift can be understood as a strengthening of technology as a curriculum area, previous research highlights that construction activities function best as open, process‑oriented practices, where learning emerges through play, exploration, and didactical support. This creates a tension between policy‑level reclassification and the pedagogical conditions that support children’s learning, participation, and meaning‑making in building and construction activities.