How can research contribute to strengthening staff democratic self-management? This is the challenge I have set for myself in my PhD project. My academic work grows out of years of practical engagement as a preschool teacher and union activist, committed to strengthening the power of children and staff within preschools. I work within a Cultural-Historical Activity Theory framework, through which I evaluate the substantive democratic qualities of preschools and examine the factors that hinder or enable bottom-up power.