Nye Muligheder for Samarbejde i Styring og Organisering af Dagtilbud? En forskningsberetning om mangestemmige resultater fra laboratorier.

The project was launched as an open, transverse dialogue trial to find and initiate alternative relevant interactions in the daycare area in two municipalities on Zealand in Denmark. Three types of laboratory processes were initiated. Laboratory processes are a type of workshop to, among other things, strengthen knowledge-spillover, social relations, confidence and interaction between participants. The laboratory workshops focused on interaction between children and adults, interaction between early childhood educators and daycare-centre managers as well as interaction between children, parents, early childhood educators, administrators and politicians. Thus the purpose of this study was to investigate whether participation in laboratory workshops can help find alternative collaboration procedures in the organisation of daycare facilities.

The overall result of the study is that the need identified by the project to listen to one another has now been articulated and put into practice across all bodies working with daycare facilities in the municipalities. Politicians have expressed a need to be in direct dialogue with early childhood educators, and managers have expressed a need for better insight into children’s lives at the institutions. Among other things, early childhood educators have expressed a need to be able to develop and explore their own practices more and in cooperation with others. The administration has expressed a need for more in-depth knowledge of the everyday life and practice of institutions, particularly in connection with its supervision of institutions. The authors conclude that the most important factor in work on collaboration and listening to one another is that the parties in the dialogue have confidence in each other.

The data material was collected using several methodologies. For example, the study included initiation of, and participation in, laboratory workshops, exploratory collaboration processes, questionnaire surveys, interviews and focus group interviews. Moreover, the researchers observed the participants’ work life and various meetings they attended. The laboratory workshops were prepared and conducted in direct connection with local project work and were intended for various groups of participants and dialogue parties. Among other things, new steering laboratories, administration laboratories, profession laboratories, management laboratories, child manager laboratories as well as play laboratories were established.

Hviid, P. & Plotnikof, M. (2012). Nye Muligheder for Samarbejde i Styring og Organisering af Dagtilbud? En forskningsberetning om mangestemmige resultater fra laboratorier. Københavns Universitet og Copenhagen Business School.