Niðurstöður fjölda rannsókna benda til þess að samstarf starfsfólks leikskóla og foreldra
auki öryggi og vellíðan barnanna og efli nám þeirra. Í Aðalnámskrá leikskóla frá 2011 er
lögð áhersla á lýðræðislegt samstarf á jafnréttisgrundvelli milli foreldra, starfsfólks og
barna um þátttöku í gerð skólanámskrár, starfsáætlun og mati. Jafnframt kemur fram að
leikskólakennarar skuli vera leiðandi við mótun leikskólastarfsins. Markmiðið með rannsókninni
sem hér er greint frá var að skoða áherslur og valdatengsl í samstarfi foreldra og
starfsfólks og bera það saman við hugmyndir um fagmennsku leikskólakennara. Jafnframt
var stefnt að því að skoða samstarf við foreldra af erlendum uppruna. Gögnum var safnað
með rýnihópaviðtölum við foreldra barna í fimm leikskólum og í kjölfarið ræddu leikskólakennarar
og leikskólastjórar álit og upplifun foreldranna í rýnihópi. Niðurstöður benda til
þess að samstarf starfsfólks og foreldra fari fram eftir bæði lóðréttum og láréttum brautum.
Áherslur í fagmennsku leikskólakennara virðast því bæði vera hefðbundnar, þar sem
leikskólakennarinn lítur á sig sem sérfræðing við mótun leikskólastarfs og skólanámskrár,
og lýðræðislegar, þar sem meira er horft til þekkingar foreldranna þegar einstök börn eiga
í hlut. Foreldrarnir sögðu að ef allt gengi vel og ekki kæmu upp vandamál skiptu þeir sér
lítið af starfinu. Þeir mátu sérfræðiþekkingu leikskólakennara mikils en sögðu að tíð starfsmannaskipti
hefðu veruleg áhrif á samstarfið. Starf foreldraráðs var fremur óljóst í hugum
samstarfsaðila og það virtist vera látið nægja að skólanámskráin væri þar til umfjöllunar.
Rafræn samskipti milli leikskóla og foreldra höfðu aukist og þar var leikskólakennarinn í
hlutverki þess sem upplýsir og miðlar. Þegar horft er sérstaklega til samstarfs starfsfólks
leikskóla og foreldra af erlendum uppruna, þá virtust þeir oft vera einangraðir og skorta
þekkingu á ýmsu því sem íslenskir foreldrar þekktu nokkuð vel. Leikskólakennarar leituðu
árangursríkra leiða til að vinna með þeim en sögðu að tungumálakunnátta stæði oft samstarfi
fyrir þrifum.
The aim of this research was to shed light on priorities and power relations in cooperation
between parents and educators. Furthermore, emphases in cooperation
and relations were explored with the concept of professionalism of preschool teachers
in mind. Special focus was also placed on parents of foreign origin. The partnerships
between educators and parents in preschools and how these are constructed
are among the elements expected to predict the quality of preschool activities,
and thus seen as highly important (Urban, Vandenbroeck, Peeters, Lazzari and Van
Laere, 2011). In a partnership, trust and respect are embedded, as are two-way communication,
an equilibrium in regard to power, and shared decision-making (Chan and
Ritchie, 2016). Both partners in the relationship are seen as experts, although each type of expertise is different, and both partners have responsibilities. The findings
of numerous researches reveal that cooperation between parents and educators
enhances children’s sense of security, their well-being, and their learning. The 2011
Icelandic National Curriculum Guide for Preschools (Aðalnámskrá leikskóla, 2011),
emphasises democratic cooperation built on terms of equality for parents, educators,
and children; all of whom participate in developing the school curriculum, planning,
and evaluating learning. Furthermore, it is noted that preschool teachers should lead
the development of pedagogy and education. These concepts can possibly be seen
as contradictory. When findings of Icelandic research are explored, it can be seen that
parents value numerous daily conversations regarding their child when they deliver
him or her to school in the morning and pick their child up in the afternoon. They are
also highly satisfied with parent–teacher interviews once or twice a year (Anna Magnea
Hreinsdóttir and Jóhanna Einarsdóttir, 2011; Bryndís Garðarsdóttir and Jóhanna
Einarsdóttir, 2007). Moreover, they seemed to be content with their child’s preschool
in general. Their partnership with teachers has thus been implemented through various
events and meetings organised by the preschools. In Finland, Alasuutari (2010)
found that partnerships with parents could be seen both in vertical and horizontal
frames. The former was rather traditional, where the expertise of the professional’s
knowledge was estimated to be more meaningful than the parents’ knowledge. The
latter was considered to be more on an equal basis, and knowledge about the child
was seen to stem from both partners in the relationship. In the Finnish curriculum, this
partnership is intended to be on equal terms, but a clear definition of what that means
is needed. Data were collected on partnerships between parents and educators of the
oldest children in the preschools. Partnership was discussed in focus groups with
parents in five preschools, and subsequently focus groups of preschool teachers
and head teachers discussed the views and perceptions of the parents. The findings
reveal that cooperation of parents and educators can be found in both vertical and
horizontal frames and the emphases are similar to those in Finland. The professionals
saw themselves as experts relating to the school curriculum and the organisation of
the preschool activities, but when the issues were connected to the individual child,
the professionals listened to the parents and respected their knowledge about their
child. The emphases regarding preschool teachers’ professionalism can thus be seen
both as traditional, where they see themselves as experts in constructing the activities
and the curriculum for the school, and democratic where there is a stronger focus
on the knowledge of the parents when a question about an individual child arises. The
parents thought that if everything went well and there were no problems they did not
have to act. They thought highly of the expertise of preschool teachers and perceived
that constant enrolment of new staff was affecting the cooperation. The operation
of the Parents’ council was not clear enough and it seemed that both partners were
satisfied that discussions on school curricula were only conducted there. Providing
information to parents via the Internet (Facebook, emails, Instagram, etc.) was common
in all the preschools, but parents and educators had different opinions about
the best way to reach parents via the net. In a way, the preschool teachers seemed
a little insecure, wondering when enough information had been provided, but they
continued to inform parents since they had been criticised for not doing so. As for
parents of foreign origin, they appeared to appreciate daily cooperation and contact.
They seemed isolated and lacked knowledge of procedures which Icelandic parents
readily understood. The preschool teachers tried to find successful ways of cooperating
with them, but often the language was a hindrance.
