Forfattere
Henri Pesonen, Karianne Franck, Aino Äikäs & Noora Heiskanen
Sammendrag
Professionals in Norwegian early childhood education and care (ECEC; e.g. ECEC teachers, special pedagogues, managers, assistants) face challenges such as staff shortages, increased job demands, absenteeism, growing child diversity and a lack of knowledge on special needs. They are expected to ensure inclusion and well-being of all children, yet discrepancies often arise between institutional expectations and the experiences professionals encounter in such challenging situations. When challenges emerge, a gap forms between practice and expectations, leading professionals to blame other people or factors, or to defend or justify their actions. We were particularly interested in how the professionals position themselves in relation to their challenging situations, how they make themselves accountable and how they position other people or factors within their accounts.
Using a survey, we asked 251 ECEC professionals across Norway to describe problematic situations they had experienced. Applying accounts as an analytical framework and a discourse analysis of position, we investigated how ECEC professionals position themselves through their accounts and in what ways their positions in these accounts explain how they navigate challenges. We discovered the following positions in the accounts: (a) victim externalising responsibility, (b) struggling victim, (c) anguished, self-blaming survivor and (d) unengaged. Notably, in the unengaged position, participants reported no issues in ECEC, indicating the effectiveness of our data production method and discursive approach. Examples of these positions, including their practical implications, are presented and discussed in detail, and the methodological development of using accounts as a discursive practice in ECEC contexts is presented.