Positioning flexibly scheduled ECEC in the chain of childcare by parents working non-standard hours

Autor: Kaisu Peltoperä, Tanja Vehkakoski, Marja-Leena Laakso, Leena Turja
Rok vydání: 2022
Předmět:
Zdroj: Families, Relationships and Societies. 11:551-568
ISSN: 2046-7443
2046-7435
DOI: 10.1332/204674321x16226480242482
Popis: This study examined how Finnish parents working non-standard hours (N=18) positioned institutional flexibly scheduled early childhood education and care (ECEC) as a link in their chain of childcare. Interview data, analysed following the principles of discursive psychology, yielded three discourses on flexibly scheduled ECEC: the discourse of the child’s best interest, the discourse of the labour market, and the discourse of equality of opportunity for the child. Flexibly scheduled ECEC was positioned in these discourses either as the last resort option for childcare, a safe haven for the child, a societal service enabling parents to work during non-standard hours or as a place for children’s learning. It is important to recognise the origins of these discourses and reflect on them to improve ECEC services, so that they meet the demands of safety as a link in the chain of childcare and increase the level of parental satisfaction with them.
Databáze: OpenAIRE