Markmið rannsóknarinnar var að skoða reynslu mæðra af samskiptum við kennara og annað
fagfólk á menntavettvangi í ljósi ólíkrar stéttarstöðu. Meginefniviður rannsóknarinnar er
sex hálfopin einstaklingsviðtöl við mæður grunnskólabarna á einhverfurófi og tvö upplýsingaviðtöl
við sérfræðinga á vettvangi stjórnsýslu. Kenningarammi Bourdieu var nýttur til
að greina hvernig bakgrunnur mæðranna, með áherslu á efnahags-, menningar- og félagsauð,
markaði stöðu þeirra, samskipti og væntingar á vettvangi menntunar. Kerfisbundið
aðgengi mæðranna að ráðgjöf og stuðningi varð minna, að eigin mati, eftir því sem barnið
varð eldra, en þá fór auður þeirra og óformlegt aðgengi að skipta meira máli, og ljóst varð
að mæður í millistétt stóðu þá betur að vígi. Félagsauður skipti sköpum og umbreytti stöðu
móður í lægri stétt. Félagsauður barst í gegnum sterk fjölskyldutengsl, vinatengsl, tengsl
við vinnufélaga og kunningja, og/eða tengsl við aðra foreldra með börn á einhverfurófi.
Ólíkur menningarauður birtist í mismiklu a) sjálfsöryggi í samskiptum, b) þekkingu á leikreglum
menntavettvangsins og c) virkni í samskiptum við kennara og sérfræðinga. Það er
mat höfunda að nauðsynlegt sé að samhæfa betur kerfið milli skólastiga og tryggja að þar
sé þekking á stéttamun og tekið sé tillit til hans. Víkka þarf út skilgreiningar á stéttarhugtakinu
þannig að það nái einnig til félags- og menningarauðs og beita eigindlegri nálgun
til að ná betur að greina ferli, bjargráð og aðgerðir sem ýta undir eða minnka stéttamun og
birtingarmyndir hans í íslensku menntakerfi.
In Iceland, social class is an understudied field of research in terms of social justice
in education. The theoretical purpose of the research was to explore class disposition
of mothers of children with learning disabilities in relation to their experience of
schooling by using Pierre Bourdieu‘s theoretical framework. Bourdieu’s concepts of
habitus, field and capital are used to explore how mothering practices and resources
are shaped by their class position, as well as how the education field of compulsory
schooling opens up possibilities to some while closing them to others. The practical
purposes of this research were to explore parental experience of the school and professional
services concerning the education of their autistic child, as well as communication
with their child’s teachers and other professionals at school.
This research is a pilot study in preparation for a more extensive research project on
Parental practices, choices and responsibilities within the Icelandic education field,
designed and led by the first author, financed by The University of Iceland Research
Fund and the Icelandic Equality Fund. In this paper the theoretical and methodological
framework of the project is introduced and used to analyse a small dataset, collected
for the MA-thesis of the second author, comprising a total of eight semi-structured
interviews. The main interviewees were six mothers of children with autism spectrum
disorder, and supplementary interviews were taken with a project manager of inclusive
education at the Reykjavík Municipality educational office and a worker from a
grassroots consultancy centre (Icel. Sjónarhóll) for parents of children with special
needs.
This research is a pilot study in preparation for a more extensive research project on
Parental practices, choices and responsibilities within the Icelandic education field,
designed and led by the first author, financed by The University of Iceland Research
Fund and the Icelandic Equality Fund. In this paper the theoretical and methodological
framework of the project is introduced and used to analyse a small dataset, collected
for the MA-thesis of the second author, comprising a total of eight semi-structured
interviews. The main interviewees were six mothers of children with autism spectrum
disorder, and supplementary interviews were taken with a project manager of inclusive
education at the Reykjavík Municipality educational office and a worker from a
grassroots consultancy centre (Icel. Sjónarhóll) for parents of children with special
needs.
The mothers who participated in the research belonged to two distinctive class groups
in terms of education and occupation. Three counted as middle-class. They had
tertiary education degrees, worked as professionals and were married to their children’s
fathers who had a similar class position. The lower-class mothers had GCSE or
A level equivalent education; two of them struggled with health issues and were not
participating in the labour market. None of the three lived with the child´s father and
he took no part in the upbringing of the child. Two of them were single mothers and
one was co-habiting with a new partner. In a Bourdieusian class analysis the data
indicated a clear division between the mothers in terms of economic, cultural and
social capital.
The SEN-industry in Iceland has intensified and in the compulsory schools access
to resources is not guaranteed, resulting in growing insecurity among the mothers
with regard to obtaining the services of a paraprofessional to conduct a personalized
special-ed programme for their child. This was especially the case after they joined
secondary school. Subsequently, parental class resources and capital turned out to
be more important. Overall, the middle-class mothers exhibited more confidence in
their communication with the school. However, the culture of intensive parenting is
rather young in Icelandic education, so all of the mothers were quite afraid of being
seen as too pushy and demanding for their children.
One of the main contributions of this research is exhibited in the title of this paper.
The title is a quote from a middle-class mother, who felt strongly about the importance
of having someone with respectability alongside her in the school- and at
professional-meetings, in order to obtain needed services and interventions for her
child. The middle-class mothers perceived that acquaintance with people who had
high enough symbolic capital was helpful in moving things forward for their child.
One of the lower-class mothers boosted her social capital by starting to work in her
children’s school which gave her invaluable insight into the rules of the game in the
field of education and had ground-breaking effects for her child. However, such knowledge
and overview was easily accessible to the middle class mothers as they enjoyed
more valuable connections through relatives, friends, acquaintances and parent
associations.
