Vidensbaseret indsats over for udsatte børn i dagtilbud – modelprogram: VIDA-forskningsrapport 2. Organisatorisk læring.

This report is part of the reporting of the research project ‘Knowledge-Based Efforts for Socially Disadvantaged Children in Day-Care’ (VIDA). The overall objective of the VIDA project is to study the effects of a new daycare facility intervention, in which early childhood educators and daycare managers learn to work with a theoretical (knowledge-based), targeted and systematic approach. The study is to identify the factors that encourage or inhibit organisational learning, especially in connection with working with vulnerable children.

The analysis identifies four themes that describe how managers believe the pedagogical practice has changed for participants in VIDA daycare facilities:

1) Context and resource perspective. This theme is about a certain approach to working with vulnerable children. Participation in the VIDA project stresses the importance of strengthening the child's different types of relationship with other individuals in the daycare facility. More than 50% of managers reply that the VIDA project has changed their view on the importance of including vulnerable children in group activities maintaining relationships rather than focussing on the individual child and its individual problems. Moreover, the pedagogical practice focusses on strengthening the vulnerable child's possibilities to participate in relationships and focusses on the processes that can increase the risk of these children being excluded. The study concludes that, due to their participation in the VIDA project, the managers have adopted a more resource-oriented understanding of vulnerable children.

2) Reflection culture. This theme refers to how the daycare facilities have developed an experimental and reflective approach to the general pedagogical practice. The managers point particularly to the fact that the staff have increased focus on analysing, reassessing and developing their own pedagogical practice based on the knowledge and learning they have a achieved through VIDA.

3) Strategic and systematic organisation. Daycare facilities work more systematically and strategically with learning and change processes after participating in the VIDA project. They have strategically adjusted their resources, e.g. division of responsibilities, organisation and rules, knowledge and competences, to the tasks and challenges they are confronted with in relation to optimising the well-being and learning of vulnerable children.

4) Status quo. This theme stresses that only few daycare managers express that they have not changed their approach in the pedagogical practice after having participated in the VIDA programme. The primary statement of this small group is that they were already working with the methodologies and knowledge of the project. Therefore, the majority of the participating daycare facilities have initiated and implemented new pedagogical practices or improved existing pedagogical practices.

The VIDA project tests two programmes: the VIDA basis model programme and the VIDA basis+ parent model programme. The VIDA basis+ parent model programme differs from the VIDA basis model programme by involving parents to a higher degree. The programmes are tested against a reference group (control group). The data basis partly consists of a survey (VIDA survey) and partly of qualitative interviews. The interventions were implemented in 2011 and completed in 2013.

The VIDA survey was completed in three phases in 2011, 2012 and 2013 with daycare managers and employees from the VIDA basis model programme, the VIDA basis+ parent model programme, and the reference group. The VIDA survey's three phases primarily focus on the current practice of the daycare facilities with regard to organisational learning. The responses across the VIDA basis model programme, the VIDA basis+ parent model programme and the control group were analysed statistically using the chi-squared test and the t-test.

The interviews took place in summer 2011 as well as in spring 2013. They were conducted as semi-structured group interviews with all participating daycare managers from the VIDA basis model programme and the VIDA basis+ parent model programme, respectively. All participating managers in the group interviews were given equal opportunities to answer questions. In 2011, the interviews were completed with 78 daycare managers, and in 2013 with 77 daycare managers. Data from the interviews was analysed using the data analysis software ATLAS.ti v.6.2, and descriptive analyses of occurrence, dissemination and correlation of phenomena in the material were also performed.

Jensen, B. & Brandi, U. (2013). Vidensbaseret indsats over for udsatte børn i dagtilbud – modelprogram: VIDA-forskningsrapport 2. Organisatorisk læring, Aarhus universitet, Institut for Uddannelse og Pædagogik.