This research builds on a three-year development project in so called vulnerable areas in Swedish urban, multilingual and multicultural settings. Fieldnotes from coaching sessions, observations in three targeted preschools, written narratives from the principals and interviews with staff at the preschools constituted the basis for reflexive thematic analysis. The development work at the preschools is still on-going and literacy perspectives with the view of literacy as participating in a social and cultural arena proved very successful in enhancing children’s curiosity and interest in emergent literacy development. The major themes will be elaborated during the presentation after a short presentation of our view of projects as form for school development and how we interpret a literacy perspective when it comes to literacy and language development. Literacy-activities in the practices will be presented and commented on as well as success-factors in a multilingual environment. A third theme regards how fruitful cooperation parents was established. A fourth theme encompasses ways of enabling all children’s participation, also children with special educational needs. The last theme concerns how leadership and joint responsibility was built up and distributed, as all personnel were involved, also personnel without a formal preschool education, something we interpret as a success factor for the sustainability of the development work.

After having worked as an upper secondary school teacher and teacher in municipal adult education for some 20 years I earned a PhD in Education at Linköping University in 2010. Became Associate Professor in Educational Work at Umeå University in 2015 and from 2016 I work as senior lecturer and Associate Professor in Education at Mid Sweden University. As a researcher I have taken part of the development of a screening material in literacy for newly arrived children on behalf of the Swedish Board of Education 2014-2105. From 2016 and onwards I have been involved, in several projects, both as principal and co-applicant, aimed at school development and in-service development of literacy practices in schoolageeducare centers, schools and preschools. Currently I am main supervisor for two PhD-students.  I have participated in various international and national conferences on reading and Education, and currently lecture about school development for both practitioners and academic audiences. Preschools as an arena for language and literacy development, in particular for multilingual children, constitute a constant focus in my research in order to contribute to more equal conditions for all children’s further educational trajectory.