Mavefornemmelser og dårlige lugte. Pædagogers sansninger af familien i et socialt udsat boligområde

The article investigates how sensory impressions contribute to shaping kindergarten teachers’ perception of children and their families, and the potential and dilemmas this entails. The researcher is concerned with how educators use their whole body, through smelling, seeing, hearing, feeling, tasting and sensing moods, when encountering the bodily expressions and signals of kindergarten children and families. The aim of the study is to point out that there is a need for professional reflection on the family as a sensory phenomenon, and at the same time contribute to a critical discussion about the conditions of current pedagogical practice in kindergartens.

The author believes that the sensory experiences of the educators, with the potential and pitfalls they pose, do not receive enough professional attention in the everyday life and organisation of kindergartens. The educators ask for more time and space to explore what they sense, for example through home visits. They also inform that the perceptions they have of the children’s families have a major impact on how they understand and act in relation to certain children. Without the educators reflecting professionally on the family as a sensory phenomenon, the author fears that one is in danger of only understanding the family in limited ways. She argues that the focus of universal well-being assessments on standardisation and systematisation means that knowledge that cannot be documented or decontextualised disappears. This leads to a devaluation of the sensory aspect, which is essential in the work of educators. Such perceptions are often just called ‘speculations’ or ‘gut feelings’. The author concludes that the educators’ embodied knowledge is professional or holds the opportunity to become so through continuous reflection.

The study is part of a larger research project that studied educators’ understanding and assessments of children’s well-being, especially with a view to identifying children in potentially vulnerable positions. The empirical data is based on two months of ethnographic fieldwork in a Danish kindergarten, where the majority of the children came from families with an ethnic minority background. The researcher has observed everyday kindergarten life, conducted qualitative interviews with educators and parents, and attended pedagogical meetings and been on individual home visits to selected families.

Houmøller, K. (2018). “Mavefornemmelser og dårlige lugte. Pædagogers sansninger af familien i et socialt udsat boligområde». Forskning i Pædagogers Profession og Uddannelse, 2(2):49-62.