ERIC Number: EJ1257552
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2020
Pages: 15
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1350-293X
EISSN: N/A
Early Childcare as Arenas of Inclusion: The Contribution of Staff to Recognising Parents with Refugee Backgrounds as Significant Stakeholders
Grethe Sønsthagen, Anne
European Early Childhood Education Research Journal, v28 n3 p304-318 2020
According to the Norwegian Kindergarten Act, educational staff should work in cooperation and understanding with the guardians of a child. In this article, it is argued that staff must ensure sufficient quality of interactions with all parents, provide them with satisfactory information, and facilitate parental participation, in order for children to have a safe educational environment. This study explores the ways in which early childcare staff could recognise parents with refugee backgrounds as significant stakeholders. The study has followed two early childcare institutions through several data collection methods. Eight staff members and the management has participated. Additionally, parents with refugee backgrounds have been interviewed. The analysis demonstrated that in order for staff to sufficiently recognise the parents with refugee backgrounds, the parents had to interact in the confines of the majority's discourse. Both institutions recognised the parents' backgrounds on an everyday basis; however, staff did not communicate their responsibility in this regard. Finally, parents generally appeared satisfied regarding their cooperation with staff; nevertheless, the staff had not sufficiently communicated the role and responsibility of early childcare to the parents.
Descriptors: Foreign Countries, Parent Teacher Cooperation, Parent Role, Refugees, Early Childhood Teachers, Teacher Responsibility, Early Childhood Education, Parent Background, Parent Attitudes, Teacher Attitudes, Power Structure, Interaction, Stakeholders, Norwegian, Interpersonal Competence, Language Proficiency, Cultural Differences, Minority Groups, Parenting Styles
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research; Tests/Questionnaires
Education Level: Early Childhood Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Norway
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A