Förskolekulturens möte med det mångkulturella samhället : ett möte mellan pedagogen och föräldrarna

Sammanfattning: My main question in this essay has been: why does the preschool advocate being outdoors? How should we respond to parents who have a different view on this? Children's right to participation and influence is also a question that I raise. How should we preschool teachers do when we stand between the child's desire to be out and the parents wish that their child should be indoors? By reading what is written in the preschool curriculum on children's influence, I have come to the conclusion that we preschool teachers must listen to what the children express that they wish to do, otherwise we go against our policy documents. My dilemma is about how to respond to parents who have a different opinion on being outdoors than we have. Many parents express an aversionagainst their children having to be outdoors. Us preschool teachers have to explain to them why it is important to be outdoors. Through literature, I have come to the conclusion that the only way for the children to get an understanding about natural science, is to be outdoors. In order to acquire knowledge of nature and the environment, you have to experience it with your senses. Cultural clashes between preschool teachers and parents can occur because many of the parents come from different cultures than we do. You must therefore have an interest in learning about other cultures and also have an open approach towards the cultural differences that may arise between the teachers and the parents. What I have learned by writing this essay is, that it is important to have the ability to understand what other people think and also show an interest in their culture, norms and values. By taking the time to listen to the parent’s feelings and explain to them why we believe it is important to be outdoors, I think that the parents can get a better understanding of why it is good to be outdoors. By explaining to them that it is about giving their child a natural science learning, which is useful in their future life, I believe that they can see this from a different point of view. I also discuss, from a historical perspective, how the idea of the “competent child” has developed in Sweden.