Abstract
Little is known about how supportive relationships and parent communities materialize, or fail to materialize, in Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) settings characterized by family diversity. This paper explores parents’ lived experiences of belonging and non-belonging through semi-structured interviews with 12 parents of children from diverse backgrounds in two preschools in Reykjavík, Iceland. The children of these parents were 5–6 years old and would make the transition to primary school in the next school year. Interviews focused on parents’ experiences of their child’s time at the preschool, relationships with peers, educators and other families and the forthcoming transition to primary school. Findings suggested varied parental attitudes. While some reported benefits from belonging to a preschool community, others preferred to keep their distance or actively retained boundaries between home and school spheres. For these latter parents, belonging was framed as a matter of choice, influenced by factors such as time and language. A nuanced understanding of time as both facilitating belonging and a limited resource to be managed emerged from the study. These perspectives have implications for how policymakers and educators might facilitate belonging but also the importance of respecting those parents who choose to remain ‘outside’ the preschool community.
Résumé
On sait peu de choses sur la façon dont les relations de soutien et les communautés de parents se matérialisent, ou ne parviennent pas à se matérialiser, dans des contextes d’éducation et de soins de la petite enfance se caractérisant par la diversité des familles. Cet article explore les expériences vécues par les parents en matière d’appartenance et de non-appartenance par des entretiens semi-structurés dans deux établissements préscolaires de Reykjavík en Islande avec 12 parents d’enfants de diverses origines. Ces enfants avaient de 5 à 6 ans et devaient faire leur transition vers l’école primaire l’année scolaire suivante. Les entretiens portaient sur les expériences des parents du temps passé par leur enfant à l’école maternelle, aux relations avec les pairs, les éducateurs et les autres familles, ainsi qu’à la transition prochaine vers l’école primaire. Les résultats suggèrent diverses attitudes parentales. Certains parents font état d’avantages de l’appartenance à une communauté préscolaire, mais d’autres préfèrent garder leurs distances ou maintenir activement des limites entre les sphères familiale et scolaire. Pour ces derniers, l’appartenance est une question de choix influencé par des facteurs comme le temps et la langue. L’étude fait ressortir une compréhension nuancée du temps tant comme facilitant l’appartenance que comme une ressource limitée qu’il faut gérer. Ces perspectives ont des implications sur la manière dont les décideurs politiques et les éducateurs pourraient faciliter l’appartenance, mais aussi sur l’importance de respecter les parents qui choisissent de rester « en dehors» de la communauté préscolaire.
Resumen
Poco se conoce acerca de la forma en que se materializan, o no, las relaciones solidarias y las comunidades de padres en grupos de Educación y Cuidado Preescolar caracterizados por diversidad familiar. Este artículo explora las experiencias de pertenencia o falta de pertenencia de los padres por medio de entrevistas semiestructuradas con 12 padres de niños provenientes de ambientes culturalmente diversos en dos instituciones de preescolar de Reikiavik, Islandia. Los niños tenían entre 5 y 6 años e iniciarían la educación primaria en el siguiente año escolar. Las entrevistas se enfocaron en experiencias de los padres durante el tiempo de educación preescolar de sus hijos, las relaciones con sus semejantes, educadores y otras familias, y la transición subsiguiente a la educación primaria. Los hallazgos sugirieron diversas actitudes de los padres. Mientras algunos de ellos reportaron beneficios al pertenecer a una comunidad de preescolar, otros prefirieron mantener la distancia o activamente establecieron límites entre la vida en casa y el ambiente escolar. Para estos padres, la pertenencia se enmarcó en un contexto de libre escogencia, influenciado por factores tales como tiempo e idioma. El estudio arrojó una percepción de tiempo como facilitador del sentido de pertenencia y a su vez como recurso limitado que necesita ser administrado. Estas perspectivas afectarían la forma en que los diseñadores de políticas y los educadores podrían facilitar el sentido de pertenencia, y a su vez traen implicaciones sobre la importancia de respetar a aquellos padres que deciden permanecer por fuera de la comunidad preescolar.
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Acknowledgements
This work was supported by the Doctoral Grants of the University of Iceland Research Fund. It was also supported through a research project Politics of belonging: Promoting children’s inclusion in educational settings across borders funded by NordForsk (project number 85644). We would also like to thank Prof. Michel Vandenbroeck from Ghent University and Dr. Jaana Juutinen from the University of Oulu for their expert advice and constructive criticism.
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Egilsson, B.R., Einarsdóttir, J. & Dockett, S. Parental Experiences of Belonging within the Preschool Community. IJEC 53, 31–47 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13158-021-00281-z
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13158-021-00281-z