Raising quality in Norwegian early childhood centres: (re) producing the care crisis?

The book chapter addresses the care crisis (Fraser, 2016) in Norwegian kindergartens and looks at how institutions work to improve the quality of care through skills development measures, while also facing organisational challenges. The research questions are:

1. Are there any traces of the care crisis in Norwegian kindergartens after skills development was introduced as a measure to improve quality?
2. How do managers and employees in kindergartens respond to the care crisis, and what underlying assumptions are the basis for these responses?

The results show that although employees value skills development measures, these often increase the workload and pressure in kindergartens. Particularly challenging is combining the kindergarten’s care-oriented logic, which places the child’s needs at the centre, with demands for efficiency. Managers try to address the challenges by utilising existing structures, such as meetings, for skills development or by multitasking, but these strategies often lead to an increased workload. The study shows that skills development, despite good intentions to improve quality, can contribute to exacerbating the care crisis by increasing pressure on the staff.

The study uses a qualitative method and is based on interviews from seven Norwegian kindergartens. Two datasets were analysed: one linked to kindergarten teacher education and one linked to skills development in kindergartens. The interviews include kindergarten staff, managers and students, and investigate their experiences of skills development measures.

Ljunggren, B. (2022). Raising quality in Norwegian early childhood centres: (re) producing the care crisis? I Hansen, L. L., Dahl, H. M., & L. Horn (Red.), A Care Crisis in the Nordic Welfare States? Care Work, Gender Equality and Welfare State Sustainability (1. Utg., s. 158–175). Bristol University Press.