Hverdagsmøtene mellom foreldre og ansatte i barnehagen – nok voksenrammer?

The article is based on a ten-day fieldwork session in a kindergarten that investigates the interaction between parents and employees during dropping-off and picking-up situations. The aim of the article is to contribute more knowledge about the daily exchanges, as well as to discuss why there is not that much dialogue with the parents as one might expect in relation to what is stated in the Framework Plan for Kindergartens.

Research question:

What type of framework for participation characterises the daily meetings in kindergarten, and how do employees and parents help define the framework?

In this material, everyday meetings were often characterised by a child framework in addition to mixed frameworks that were meant to suit both children and parents. Purely adult frameworks, such as the Framework Plan for Kindergartens seems to assume, were less prominent. The modest scope of exclusive adult frameworks is seen in connection with the discourse about the participating child, and not just the number of employees and material frameworks. The findings give reason to discuss whether the participation needs of all parties are well met. Indirect and ritualised communication practices are not very apt for preparing the staff on how to manage difficult conversations with parents, which according to earlier research, is an issue.

Inspired by Goffman’s theories about frameworks, the article sheds light on the frameworks that characterise everyday meetings, and the question of whether parents are offered sufficient adult frameworks in everyday meetings is discussed.

Observational data was collected both from the informal interaction during dropping-off and picking-up situations (10 days) and from formal parent-teacher meetings (10 parent-teacher meetings). Observations of the daily interaction were carried out in a kindergarten with four departments, where the group of children was characterised by great cultural diversity.

Solberg, J. (2019). “Hverdagsmøtene mellom foreldre og ansatte i barnehagen – nok voksenrammer?”. Tidsskrift for nordisk barnehageforskning, 18(8):1–12.