Norway becomes more and more heterogenic society, what strongly affects the educational sector. This paper focuses on the early childhood level for children aged 1-6 (kindergartens), and the process of trust development... [ view full abstract ]
Norway becomes more and more heterogenic society, what strongly affects the educational sector. This paper focuses on the early childhood level for children aged 1-6 (kindergartens), and the process of trust development between the staff and the migrant parents from Poland.
The data material comprises over 10 family interviews with Polish children and parents, 30 interviews with Polish mothers, 10 interviews with Somalian mothers, whose children attend(ed) the Norwegian kindergartens. The research material is analyzed in the theoretical framework of Cultural-Historical Activity Theory with help of a model of developed by Mariane Hedegaard.
Being socialized in another cultural context with other values associated with childhood and care, the Polish parents enter the Norwegian kindergarten with a lot of skepticism connected to the daily institutional practices. The Somalian parents are in the first time introduced to the institutional way of taking care of children. Nevertheless, through daily interactions as well as through children’s experiences of it, the trust is developed. The main factors facilitating trust to the Norwegian institutional practices turned out to be: information; professional rather than “national” justification of the institutional practices; child’s well-being in the kindergarten, which in case of older children (4-6) entering the Norwegian kindergarten depends on additional language support. Younger children used to “like” their kindergartens very much and describe it as pleasurable, full of play and offering another kinds of fairytales than home.
The conclusions address the trust-building processes in a multi/inter-cultural society and shows the role of trust-agency that the kindergarten can play within it. Moreover, thanks to the cultural-historical theoretical frame, they show the importance of the origin of a migrant group and rather suggest avoiding categories like: “migrants” or “foreigners” that cover the cultures of origin (that strongly influences the way in which the institutions in the destination country are perceived).
