Challenges and Responses to the Vulnerability of Families in a Preschool Context
Keywords:
children, preschool, social exclusion, vulnerable families
Abstract
Problems in vulnerable families are multilayered and include the intersection of physical, psychosocial and other forms of distress. The multidimensional nature of the problems of these families is closely linked to the fact that there are many institutions in the field of education, social welfare, health care and others, in which treatment and support are not satisfactory or adapted to their needs. The article presents the partial results of a large-scale qualitative research study, results that refer to the position of vulnerable families in the context of preschool education. The study examined how vulnerability is experienced by parents of preschool children, how the expert workers in the preschools involved in the study responded to the parents' vulnerability, and how they cooperated with experts from other services outside the preschool. A qualitative research method was used in the study. Data was collected partly through semi-structured interviews with various expert workers employed in two preschools, as well as with the parents of children in the preschools; the interviews were conducted individually and in focus groups. Using thematic analysis (Braun & Clarke, 2006), we have identified four representative themes: amongst parents, the two recurring themes can be subsumed under the headings “from door to door” and "adaptation/flexibility", and amongst experts, under the headings "powerlessness/incompetence/lack of information" and "power/innovation/sensitivity". The study finds that the ability to effectively contend with vulnerability presumes a reconceptualisation of the attitude of institutional preschool education towards the family, including a change in the professional role of preschool teachers.
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References
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Barlow, J., Steward-Brown S., Callagan, H., Tucker, J., Brocklehurst, N., Davis, H., & Burns, C. (2003). Working in Partnership: The Development of a Home Visiting Service for Vulnerable Families. Child Abuse Review, 12, 172–189.
Bouwkamp, R., & Bouwkamp, S. (2014). Blizu doma. PriroÄnik za delo z družinami [Close to home. Manual for working with families]. Ljubljana: Znanstvena založba Filozofske fakultete, PedagoÅ¡ka fakulteta, InÅ¡titut za družinsko terapijo.
Braun, V., & Clarke, V. (2006). Using thematic analysis in psychology. Qualitative Research in Psychology, 3(2), 77–101.
Cantillon, B. (2011). The paradox of the social investment state: Growth, employment and poverty in the Lisbon era. Journal of European Social Policy, 21(5), 432–449.
Fraser, J. A., Kenneth, L. A., Morris, J. P., & Dadds, M. R. (2000). Home visiting intervention for vulnerable families with newborns: Follow-up results of a random control trial. Child Abuse and
Neglect. 24(11), 1399–1429.
Ghate, D., & Hazel N. (2002). Parenting in Poor Environments: Stress, Support and Coping. London: Jessica Kingsley Publishers.
Gillies, V. (2008). Perspectives on parenting responsibility: Contextualizing values and practices. Journal of Law and Society, 35(1), 95–112.
Glass, N. (1999). Sure Start: the development of an early intervention programme for young children. Children and Society. 13(4), 257–264.
Harway, M. (1996). Treating the Changing Family: Handling Normative and Unusual Events. New York: John Wiley and Sons, Inc.
Heckman, J. J. (2011). The economics of inequality: The value of early childhood education. American Educator 35(1), 31–47.
Kurikulum za vrtce [Curriculum for Preschools] (1999). Ljubljana: Ministry of Education and Sport, Department of Education. Retrieved 10.07.2016 from http://www.zrss.sipdf/050711123045_vrtci_kur.pdf.
LeskoÅ¡ek, V., Smolej Jež, S., Rihter, L., BoÅ¡kić, R., Kresal, B., & Breznik, M. (2013). RevÅ¡Äina zaposlenih [The Poverty of the Employed]. Ljubljana: Sophia.
McDonald, M., Moore, T. G., & Goldfeld, S. (2012). Sustained home visiting for vulnerable families and children: A literature review of effective programs. Prepared for Australian Research Alliance for Children and Youth. Parkville, Victoria: The Royal Children’s Hospital Centre for Community Child Health, Murdoch Childrens Research Institute.
McKeown, K. (2000). A Guide to What Works in Family Support Services for Vulnerable Families Report for Department of Health and Children. Retrieved 19.08.2016 from http://kieranmckeown.ie/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/14.-Guide-to-what-works-....pdf.
Mešl, N. (2008). Razvijanje in uporaba znanja pri socialnem delu z družino: procesi soustvarjanja teoretskega znanja v praksi [Development and use of Knowledge in Social Work with the Family: Processes of Co-creation of Theoretical Knowledge in Practice]. Ljubljana: Fakulteta za socialno delo.
De Mey, W., Coussée, F., Vandenbroeck, M., & Bouverne - De Bie, M. (2009). Social work and parent support in reaction to children’s antisocial behaviour: constructions and effects. International Journal of Social Welfare, 18(3), 299–306.
Moss, P. (2012). Experiments, critical thinkers and democrats: The role of educators in a world of conflicting alternatives. Presentation at ISSA DECET Conference, 2012, Opatija, Croatia.
Oberhuemer, P. (2000). Conceptualizing the professional role in early childhood centers: Emerging profiles in four European countries. Early Childhood Research and Practice, 17(1). Retrieved 08.2016 from http://ecrp.uiuc.edu/v2n2/oberhuemer.html.
Razpotnik, Š. (2011). It is all up to me: access to education and the discourse of individual responsibility. Teorija in praksa, 48(5), 1446–1465.
Razpotnik, Š., Turnšek, N., Rapuš Pavel, J., & Poljšak Škraban, O. (2015). Potrebe ranljivih družin in odzivi vzgojno-izobraževalnega sistema [The needs of vulnerable families and the responses of the educational system]. In T. Devjak (Ed.), Vpliv družbenih sprememb na vzgojo in izobraževanje [The impact of social change on education] (pp. 309–324). Ljubljana: Pedagoška fakulteta v Ljubljani.
Ruhm, C. J. & Waldfogel, J. (2011). Long-term effects of early childhood care and education. Institute for the Study of Labor. IZA Discussion Paper No. 6149. Retrieved 08.08.2015 from http://ssrn.com/abstract=1968100.
Schiettecat, T., Roets, G., & Vandenbroeck, M. (2014). Do families in poverty need child and family social work? European Journal of Social Work, 18(5). Retrieved 08.08.2015 from http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/13691457.2014.953916.
Strnad, M. (2012). SocialnopedagoÅ¡ko sodelovanje z družinami z veÄ problemi. Socialna pedagogika, (4), 437–465.
TurnÅ¡ek, N., & BatistiÄ-Zorec, M. (2009). Early childhood education and care in Europe: tackling social and cultural inequality: Slovenia. Brussels, 2009: EACEA. Retrieved 22.08.2015 from http://eacea.ec.europa.eu/about/eurydice/documents/098_en_v2.pdf.
Vandenbroeck, M., & Geens N. (2007). Evaluation of “BABOESâ€, the Brussels meeting place for parents and children. Belgium: Ghent University, Department of Social Welfare Studies.
De Vries, S., & Bouwkamp, R. (2002). Psihosocialna družinska terapija [Psychosocial family therapy]. Logatec: Firis.
Wilkinson, R., & Pickett, K. (2012). Velika ideja (Zakaj je enakost boljša za vse) [Great idea (Why equality is better for everyone)]. Novo mesto: Penca in drugi.
Published
2016-12-31
How to Cite
Turnšek, N., Poljšak Škraban, O., Razpotnik, Špela, & Rapuš Pavel, J. (2016). Challenges and Responses to the Vulnerability of Families in a Preschool Context. Center for Educational Policy Studies Journal, 6(4), 29–49. https://doi.org/10.26529/cepsj.52
Section
FOCUS
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