Drawing in Early Literacy Instruction: How Teachers Position Drawing in Contemporary Swedish Preschool Class

This study examines multimodality in early literacy instruction, focusing on the role of drawing in the Swedish preschool class (ages 5–6). Drawing is conceptualized as a communicative resource within classroom practice, explored through interviews with teachers, to understand how drawing is enacted and valued in this setting. While drawing is deeply integrated in preschool (Änggård, 2005), its position in early primary education remains less defined. Addressing a limited research field and current policy reforms shaping literacy instruction in Sweden, the study identifies three dimensions of drawing: (1) the pedagogical width, that is, drawing’s pervasive presence across instructional practice; (2) the bridge-building function; and (3) the contradictory positioning as both intrinsically valuable and interlinked with other modes, primarily alphabetic writing.