Teaching children with ADHD: Icelandic early childhood teachers' perspectives

Medication for the treatment of Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) has increased tremendously in Iceland during the last decade and the country has now the highest prescription rates for methylphenidate in the world. This study examines Icelandic early childhood teachers’ experiences and perspectives of children with behavioural problems and ADHD‐associated behaviour as well as the support and conditions they feel these children need in schools. Interviews were conducted with eight playschool teachers and eight first‐grade teachers in three playschools and three compulsory schools in Reykjavík. The results indicate that children’s behaviour and teachers’ views of the children’s behaviour cannot be understood without considering their social, cultural and historical contexts. Furthermore, the increase of diagnoses and medication for treatment of ADHD must be seen in relation to the Icelandic cultural and educational context where enormous changes have occurred in a short time.