”Hun er jo mit barn, men det er deres sted” – forældre og pædagogers grænsesøgning i hverdagens samarbejde

The study investigates how the daily collaboration between kindergarten teachers and parents is characterised by increasing institutionalisation of parents’ responsibilities in Denmark. The study focuses on how the boundaries between home and kindergarten change. The research questions are:

1. What tasks and responsibilities are negotiated between parents and kindergarten teachers, and how?
2. How are the boundaries sought, created, maintained and crossed?

The results show that the division of responsibility and the boundaries between kindergarten teachers and parents are characterised by mutual uncertainty. Several tasks related to children’s learning were shifted from kindergarten over to home. This entails increased expectations of and requirements for the parents who in turn experience that responsibility for the child’s learning is privatised. The study highlights that not all parents have the prerequisites to meet the learning requirements set for the home, and that the requirements are not always consistent with the everyday lives of families. Asymmetry and uncertainty associated with the division of responsibility can contribute to weakening collaboration between kindergarten and family.

The data consist of participatory observations and qualitative interviews with 24 parents, eight kindergarten teachers, one language consultant, and two kindergarten coordinators. Approximately 30 children were observed in various everyday learning activities. Interactions between kindergarten teachers and parents were also observed. The study focuses specifically on the parents’ perspective on the collaboration and division of responsibility between the home and the kindergarten.

Juhl, P., Westerling, A., & Dannesboe, K. I. (2023). ”Hun er jo mit barn, men det er deres sted” – forældre og pædagogers grænsesøgning i hverdagens samarbejde. Barn – forskning om barn og barndom i Norden, 41(1), 38–53.