Førskolelærere om barns oppholdstid i barnehagen

Abstract: Norway is facing full day care coverage and most children have full time places. The local authorities<br />responsible for the day care sector are framed by New Public Management principles of governing urging for<br />more efficient and user oriented day care services. Full time day care is vital for adult worker families. Yet, historically<br />there is evidence for scepticism towards full time day care in Norway, also among preschool teachers. There<br />is little knowledge about present perceptions amongst preschool teachers of the best time for children to spend in<br />day care. This is relevant to explore given the importance of expertise and knowledge in the government of parents<br />and parental choices. The article analyses textual data from a survey and interview data and explores Norwegian<br />preschool teachers’ understanding of the best period of time for children to spend in day care. The analyse<br />is framed by day care organisation discourses and Norwegian discourses of family, childhood and parenting. It<br />discusses the apparent ambivalence on the issue among the preschool teachers linked to their position as professionals<br />in relation to parents.<br />Keywords: Preschool teachers, children’s time in day care, new public management, working parent