Har kommunalt eller privat eierskap betydning for kvaliteten i norske barnehager?

Author
Haugset A. S.
Source
Tidsskrift for velferdsforskning, 22(3):240-254.
Year
2019

Purpose

Norwegian kindergartens are owned both by municipalities and by private enterprises such as commercial companies, religious communities, self-employed persons and parents. This article is an overview of research conducted in the period 2008–2018 regarding the differences in kindergarten quality related to various kindergarten owners. The purpose of the article is to provide an overview of recent research on differences between municipal and privately owned kindergartens in Norway, focusing on kindergarten as an educational organisation, as a social and integrating organisation and as a body responsible for the safe supervision of children.

Result

The study finds few attempts to develop theories on the differences between kindergartens related to ownership in the included contributions. Two thirds of the texts relate to kindergarten as an educational organisation and show small differences related to ownership. The least amount of research has been conducted on the social functions of kindergartens, but the material suggests that municipal kindergartens emphasise this the most. Visibility strategies in areas where the general public can also assess quality are most evident among privately owned kindergartens. Differences between kindergartens related to ownership are small, but the quality of the kindergarten corresponds to expectations based on the institutional logic of the owner, and the visibility of different qualities at the kindergarten. The article points to the need for more fine-grained analytical ownership categories than the municipal-private dichotomy. It also raises questions about how the institutions in the kindergarten sector actually create equality across ownership.

Design

In total, the research review includes eleven research reports, seven articles in anthologies, four articles in journals and one research-based textbook (total number: 23). In order to be included in the review, the studies had to be empirical investigations of Norwegian kindergartens. The findings had to differentiate between kindergartens with different types of owners, without this having to be the primary focus of the study.

References

Haugset, A. S. (2019). «Har kommunalt eller privat eierskap betydning for kvaliteten i norske barnehager?» Tidsskrift for velferdsforskning, 22(3):240-254.