Omsorg for socialt udsatte børn: En analyse af pædagogers kompetencer og pædagogiske arbejde med socialt udsatte børn i daginstitutioner.

This dissertation is part of the Action Competencies in Social Pedagogical Work with Socially Endangered Children and Youth project (the ASP-project). The project follows two analytical strategic research questions: How is the practical pedagogical work organised in relation to socially vulnerable children at the daycare centre? How are the skills of the professionals displayed in the work with socially vulnerable children at the daycare centre? The research question of the project focuses on: “What problems and challenges do professionals assess to exist in pedagogical work with socially vulnerable children at the daycare centre?”

This study identifies three overall types of daycare centres when focusing on pinpointing how the pedagogical work is organised in relation to socially vulnerable children: 1) daycare centres, where professionals do not experience they have any socially vulnerable children in their pedagogical practice, 2) daycare centres, where professionals assess they have both “normal, well functioning children”, one large group of socially vulnerable children, and one group of children in a grey area, i.e. children who at times concern
the professionals and 3) daycare centres, where the professionals assess they primarily have socially vulnerable children, and where the actual pedagogical work is developed and organised on the basis of this.
The study also shows that professionals distinguish between the fact that through their life at the daycare centre normal children must learn about play, learning and development in relation to others, whereas socially vulnerable children make special demands to the professionals on providing care in their life at the daycare centre. The dissertation’s analysis shows that it is possible to distinguish between visible efforts (socio-political acts and decisions) and invisible efforts in organisation of pedagogical work with socially vulnerable children. A key conclusion of the dissertation is to explicate that the professionals’ knowledge about children, and about socially vulnerable children, is linked to and developed through the professionals’ involvement in practice. 

This dissertation has an ethnographic approach with individual interviews, observations and focus group interviews.
The empirical basis is methodologically through interviews and observations of and by the professional staff at four daycare centres from two different municipalities in Denmark. Interviews were carried out with all professionals at the four daycare centres. Interviews were semi-structured and based on practice portraits. In addition, focus group interviews were carried out on the basis of a case.

Petersen, K. E. (2009). Omsorg for socialt udsatte børn: En analyse af pædagogers kompetencer og pædagogiske arbejde med socialt udsatte børn i daginstitutioner. København: Danmarks Pædagogiske Universitetsskole, Aarhus Universitet.