Early childcare as arenas of inclusion: the contribution of staff to recognising parents with refugee backgrounds as significant stakeholders

The study investigates how kindergartens can function as an arena of inclusion for parents with a refugee background. The research question is: How can kindergarten staff ensure that parents with a refugee background are recognised as important actors?

The results show that if the kindergarten staff were to recognise parents with a refugee background, the parents had to interact with the staff within the framework of a Norwegian discourse (language, social codes). The kindergarten acknowledged the parents’ background in everyday situations (such as facilitating religious food considerations, choosing to participate in religious services, etc.), but the staff did not communicate to the parents what the kindergarten is required to do in order to emphasise the diversity among the children or how this was done in practice. Overall, the parents in the study were satisfied with the collaboration with the kindergarten. At the same time, the employees did not communicate well enough what role and responsibility the kindergarten had towards the parents.

The researcher followed two Norwegian kindergartens over a period of two years. The data material was collected through interviews (both individual and in focus groups) with kindergarten coordinators, staff and parents, as well as participatory observations in meetings between kindergarten staff and parents and meetings between parents.

Sønsthagen, A. G. (2020). “Early childcare as arenas of inclusion: the contribution of staff to recognising parents with refugee backgrounds as significant stakeholders”. European Early Childhood Education Research Journal, 28(3):304-318.