The hidden attitude to children's self-esteem : A study of preschool pedagogues impressions and perceptions of children's self-esteem

The pre-school is seen by many as the place where children get equipped for the future and the challenges there of. One of the most important aims according of the curriculum for Swedish preschools is that children get the opportunity, in interaction with the pedagogues, to develop their identity and to feel secure and satisfied with themself. Although, in the curriculum of the Swedish preschool system there is a comprehensive focus on the children’s competencies and learning, the importance that the children feel secure is not that prominent. Consequently a paradox occurs between the focus on children’s competencies and their need for care. The focus of this study is to investigate how this effects the pedagogues work with the children’s self-esteem. The study investigates the pedagogues views on self-esteem and how they work to strengthen and develop the childrens self-esteem. A qualitative method was used, based on interviews and observations, in order to get a verified picture of the pedagogues views on the above questions. The interviews took place in a pre-school in the south part of Stockholm. The study is based on the perspective sociology of childhood. The result shows that the pedagogues child perspective is based on the ’competent child’ where the development of the children’s self-esteem developed with confirmation of the childrens competencies and performances. The childrens self-esteem is according to the pedagogues a concept they take for granted as a ’silent perspective’, instead of something outspoken and something they discuss between one another. In conclusion, to work with children's self-esteem and to make the work as meaningful as possible, it is important that the pedagogues are aware that there are several ways to it’s development both an inner subjective and outer, which they display. The result shows that much focus is placed on developing the outer performance-based self-esteem. As a consequence little focus is laid on the emotional acknowledgment necessary for the development of the subjective or the inner self-esteem