Rammer for pædagogfaglig ledelse – En undersøgelse blandt pædagogiske ledere i kommunale dagtilbud i Aarhus Kommune

The study investigates how pedagogical leaders in municipal kindergartens in Aarhus Municipality assess their work task frameworks. The purpose is to determine what type of non-academic tasks they perform that interfere with their work as pedagogical leaders. The study’s overarching research question is:

• Do pedagogical leaders in municipal kindergartens in Aarhus perform tasks, within selected categories, that they consider interfere with their pedagogical leadership?

The sub-questions are:

• Which tasks within the selected categories do the pedagogical leaders perform and how often do they perform these tasks?
• To what extent do the pedagogical leaders consider that these tasks support or interfere with their pedagogical leadership?
• Which tasks are perceived as the most disruptive to pedagogical leadership?
• Which tasks do pedagogical leaders think can be solved by others?

The results show that pedagogical leaders in municipal kindergartens in Aarhus perform several non-academic tasks, and that many of these interfere with their work as leaders. Among the tasks the leaders perform are 1) administrative tasks, including IT, 2) administrative staff tasks, 3) practical tasks related to the buildings, and 4) pedagogical tasks related to the organisation of the work taking place in kindergarten, for example in the event of illness. The tasks that are considered most disruptive are the administrative IT tasks and administrative registration of staff working hours. Practical tasks related to the buildings are also considered more disruptive than supportive. Pedagogical tasks related to the organisation of work taking place in kindergarten are considered both supportive and disruptive in relation to the professional management. It is particularly the IT tasks and practical tasks related to the buildings that the leaders consider could be dealt with by others.

The study is based on answers from a questionnaire sent to 216 pedagogical leaders in municipal kindergartens, all members of BULP – the local union for educators and pedagogical leaders in Aarhus Municipality. The questionnaire was prepared in collaboration with BULP Aarhus and pilot tested by two pedagogical leaders. A total of 164 pedagogical leaders responded to the questionnaire, which amounts to a response rate of 76 percent. The data from the questionnaires were processed using descriptive analysis.

Nøhr, K. & Lindeberg, N. H. (2022). Rammer for pædagogfaglig ledelse – En undersøgelse blant pædagogiske ledere i kommunale dagtilbud i Aarhus Kommune. VIVE – Viden til Velfærd Det Nationale forsknings- og Analysecenter for Velfærd. https://www.vive.dk/da/udgivelser/rammer-for-paedagogfaglig-ledelse-rv7mekvn