«Et ord sier mer enn tusen tegninger» – en undersøkelse om religions plass i barnehagen

The study investigates how religion is integrated into kindergarten’s pedagogical practice in Norway. The purpose is to understand how kindergarten employees relate to and work on the topic of religion and life stance. The study seeks to map the extent to which religion has a place in kindergarten, as well as what pedagogical strategies are used to deal with children’s questions and interest in religion. The research question is: Do religion and life stance have a place in kindergarten, and in what contexts can religion become part of kindergarten’s educational content?

The results show that religion has little place in kindergarten. Religion is most often addressed in connection with holiday celebrations and spontaneous conversations with the children. Only a minority of the kindergarten employees experience that they have enough competence on the different religions. Christianity is the most prominent religion, followed by Islam. Parents’ participation in the work on religion varies. The study concludes that there is a need for more knowledge and collaboration between kindergarten staff and parents to address children’s religious questions and curiosities with interest and respect.

The study uses a quantitative survey of 169 kindergarten employees, including pedagogical leaders, skilled workers and assistants. The survey included questions about religion’s place in kindergarten, how religion becomes part of kindergarten’s work, staff competence in relation to different religions, and parents’ participation in the work on religion. The responses were analysed using thematic analysis, where the responses were encoded and categorised to identify key topics.

Belseth, K. (2023). «Et ord sier mer enn tusen tegninger» – en undersøkelse om religions plass i barnehagen. Barn, 41(1), 23–37.