‘It’s in my interest to collaborate…’–parents’ views of the process of interacting and building relationships with preschool practitioners in Sweden.

The study explores parents' perspectives on, and experiences of, collaboration between home and kindergarten in a Swedish context. The research question is: How do parents perceive the process of building good relationships with kindergarten staff?

The parents in the study emphasise the importance of continuity in building trusting and genuine relationships with kindergarten staff. They believe this is essential in order to maintain their parental responsibility from a distance and ensure the children's well-being, development and learning in kindergarten. When parents choose a kindergarten, they try to facilitate good collaboration. The way they build relationships varies; it feels natural and simple for some, while it can be perceived as challenging for others.

The study is based on qualitative interviews with ten parents (nine mothers and one father) aged 29 to 48 years. The parents had different backgrounds, education levels and experiences. Some were immigrants and they lived in different areas, from Stockholm to small towns. They also had experience from different types of kindergartens.

Vuorinen, T. (2021). "‘It’s in my interest to collaborate…’–parents’ views of the process of interacting and building relationships with preschool practitioners in Sweden". Early Child Development and Care, 191(16):2532-2544.