Preschool children belonging in a diverse group of children: The perspectives and experiences of parents

Abstract

Partnerships between parents and professionals are considered important for quality early childhood education. Parental involvement has been found to have positive effects on children’s social as well as academic competences (Janssen & Vandenbroeck, 2018; Norheim & Moser, 2020; OECD, 2013). This is reflected in Icelandic legislation and policy documents. The Preschool Act (lög um leikskóla nr. 90/2008) stipulates the rights of parents to be provided with information about the care and education of their children. In the national curriculum for preschools (Mennta- og menningarmálaráðuneytið, 2011), families are considered collaborators. Teachers are encouraged to listen to parents’ views and to demonstrate understanding and respect for different family structures (The Icelandic National Curriculum Guides for Preschools). The present study is informed by the concept of belonging (Johansson & Puroila, 2021) which refers to children’s positive relationships, being able to participate and, thus, experiencing the feeling of home and being part of a group.

The aim of the study was to elicit parents’ perspectives on participation in the preschool and practices related to belonging in their children’s preschools. Increasing globalization and migration in recent decades has resulted in preschools becoming more diverse. Prior studies have shown that children with diverse linguistic and cultural backgrounds experience non-belonging more frequently than their peers do (Jóhanna Einarsdóttir & Sara M. Ólafsdóttir, 2020). Accordingly, the study also focused on parents’ views on the belonging of children with diverse linguistic and cultural backgrounds.

The research questions are as follows:

1. What are the parents’ perspectives on belonging and their children’s position in the peer group?
2. What are the parents’ perspectives on teaching approaches for promoting belonging?
3. What are the parents’ experiences of their own belonging and participation in the preschool practices?
4. Are there differences among parents in regard to these questions according to their country of origin?

The study is part of a large NordForsk study titled ‘Politics of belonging: Promoting children’s inclusion in educational settings across borders’. In Iceland, 300 parents of preschool children participated in an electronic survey created by a research team with members from five European countries. Most of the participants, 89%, were born in Iceland.

The findings indicate that the majority of the parents surveyed considered their children to have a strong position in the peer group, to have friends, to be part of the preschool community, and to be listened to. The parents trusted the preschool educators, and they placed an emphasis on the warmth and friendship among the children and on the view that children were respected as they are.

Parents with foreign backgrounds were more likely to worry about their children’s exclusion in preschool because of language and culture, and they wished for more support to ensure their children’s belonging in the group, which is consistent with earlier studies showing that parents with non-dominant backgrounds are more worried about their children’s education and concerned that they will be excluded and will fail to meet the school’s expectations (Jóhanna Einarsdóttir & Arna H. Jónsdóttir, 2019; Van Laere & Vandenbroeck, 2017). These findings are disturbing, and it is important that educators re-examine their practices and consider how children with different home languages and cultures can enrich the preschool community.

Parents with foreign backgrounds were also less likely than others to report that they were able to influence the preschool practices, and they had less confidence in presenting their views about the preschool. These findings are consistent with previous studies that show that parents with foreign backgrounds often experience hindrances in communicating with the preschool (Jóhanna Einarsdóttir & Arna H. Jónsdóttir, 2019). These hindrances are often connected to language and cultural differences and asymmetrical power relations (Norheim & Moser, 2020).

Although a small group of parents called for the children to be taught facts about diversity and cultural sensitivity, the findings indicate that the parents chose to adapt to the practices of the preschool and trusted the educators to support their children’s belonging. They did not demand that the preschool adapt to the children but rather that the children adapt to the preschool. These findings align with other studies showing that immigrant parents quickly accommodate to the values and practices of the schools in their new countries and do not expect the school to make exceptions in order to accommodate their children (Solberg, 2018; Tobin et al., 2016; Van Laere & Vandenbroeck, 2017).

The findings are worth consideration and call for further studies and revisions of parental partnerships in preschool, focusing on democratic parental involvement built on discussions and negotiations, especially among those who have non-dominant home languages and cultural backgrounds (Janssen & Vandenbroeck, 2018; Vandenbroeck, 2009)