”Profesjonalitet under press? Ein studie av förskulelærarar si meistring av rolla i lys av kvalifiseringa til yrket og arbeidsdelinga med assistentane”.

The objective of this dissertation is to gain an insight into Norwegian preschool teachers' (”førskulelærarar”) professional development and their understanding of the challenges they encounter in their professionalisation process. On the basis of this, the overall research question is: How do preschool teachers master their role in light of their qualifications for the work and their collaboration with assistant teachers (”assistentar”)?

Results of the study are described in the four articles that make up the dissertation.

Article 1: The newly qualified preschool teachers express in the interviews a lack of correlation between the content of their work and their expectations as to what their degree should have qualified them for. Moreover, the preschool teachers lack a systematic introduction to their new profession. Both questionnaires show that this is a widespread perception among newly qualified preschool teachers. The FluData survey also shows that preschool teachers value professional knowledge more as they gain experience. However, professional knowledge is deemed less important than personal skills, values and attitudes.

Article 2: Results from article 2 show a relatively small difference between the tasks carried out by preschool teachers and assistant teachers, and between how the two groups experience being qualified for their job. However, there are some differences: Assistant teachers spend more time on tasks directly involving the children, whereas preschool teachers spend more time on administrative tasks and parent contact. Both preschool teachers and assistant teachers have great confidence in their own skills, however preschool teachers have greater confidence in their theoretical knowledge than assistant teachers. Furthermore, staff that deem professional knowledge as important are more likely to be employed at preschools ("barnehager") for a longer period.

Article 3: Results show a distinct difference in the motivation for completing a degree as a preschool teacher between students with and without previous experience in pedagogical work. The choice to complete a degree as a preschool teacher seems more random for the inexperienced students, whereas the choice is much more purposeful for experienced students. Both groups feel that they have benefitted from the degree, but the experienced students have a stronger foundation and are able to describe how the theoretical aspects influence their pedagogical work.

Article 4: Results show that there is a limited division of responsibilities between assistant teachers and preschool teachers, and that preschool teachers are more involved in tasks with management responsibility as well as specific and well-defined pedagogical activities. The two groups are almost equally involved in the remaining activities, e.g. playing with the children, helping the children to get dressed, reading to the children, teaching them the alphabet and numbers. The two groups agree that tasks with management responsibility and specific pedagogical activities should be carried out by preschool teachers. Furthermore, they agree that the two groups should be equally involved in the remaining activities. Both groups value general insight and skills as the most important competences of the pedagogical staff. These skills are not perceived to be specifically dependent on a formal degree in social education. Preschool teachers are less likely to value practical skills than assistant teachers, but both groups value professional skills equally.

The dissertation is divided into four articles, each with their empirical data. Article 1: Data was collected through individual interviews and two questionnaire surveys (FluData and StudData). FluData contains responses from a total of 1,192 pedagogical managers and 1,357 assistant teachers at 576 Norwegian preschools. StudData is a longitudinal questionnaire survey aimed at student teachers who were monitored throughout their study programme and for a short period after completion of their degree. The author uses material from parts of StudData, which was answered by a total of 121 respondents three years after they had completed their degree. The respondents interviewed were newly qualified first-year preschool teachers. The study includes a total of nine interviews with newly qualified preschool teachers. The interview guide was developed on the basis of the central themes in the questionnaire surveys. Examples of themes are: the possibilities for preschool teachers to develop theoretical knowledge in a field dominated by practical knowledge; how the newly qualified preschool teachers experience their encounter with their new profession; and the extent to which they have access to skills development. Article 2: Data was collected through a questionnaire (FluData). Data was analysed through a descriptive statistical analysis that examines how work at preschools is divided between preschool teachers and assistant teachers, and what the groups perceive as important knowledge in order to be able to carry out different tasks. Article 3: Data was collected through individual interviews as well as focus group interviews with a selection of the individuals interviewed. The respondents were 16 students in the final year of their degree in social education. The respondents constituted students with and without experience working as assistant teachers. Data was analysed based on the underlying questionnaire survey (FluData) and on themes about qualification through education as well as theory regarding professional qualification. Article 4: The article uses the same data as article 2, but focuses on the extract of data that relates to pedagogical managers with formal educational qualifications (998 people). Data was analysed through a descriptive statistical analysis to examine how staff composition and formal competences affect the division of responsibilities between preschool teachers and assistant teachers.

Steinnes, G.S. (2014): ”Profesjonalitet under press? Ein studie av förskulelærarar si meistring av rolla i lys av kvalifiseringa til yrket og arbeidsdelinga med assistentane”. Avhandling for graden ph.d. i profesjonsstudier, Oslo: Høgskolen i Oslo og Akershus.