Open AccessBarnehager som konkurrerende virksomheter
Author(s) -
Hanne Fehn Dahle
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
nordic studies in education
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.195
H-Index - 8
eISSN - 1891-5949
pISSN - 1891-5914
DOI - 10.23865/nse.v40.2451
Subject(s) - judgement , competition (biology) , secrecy , order (exchange) , product (mathematics) , psychology , marketing , business , sociology , public relations , political science , mathematics , law , ecology , geometry , finance , biology
Whenever the amount of placements in kindergarten exceeds the number of children, the various kindergartens are inclined to compete in order to attract the families. Drawing on Freidson’s (2001) theory on professionalism, the present article focuses on the ways in which teachers in kindergarten experience and assess such competition. The empirical data stem from interviews with 18 teachers employed by large enterprises of private kindergartens. The analysis demonstrates that while they identify with the “third logic”, the teachers are faced with a competitive market regulated by supply and demand. Thus, they find themselves caught in the tension between, on one hand, the ethical values inherent to the profession, stressing their own professional judgement and the interests of all the children, and on the other, the owner’s need to win the competition, leading to product orientation, marketing, and secrecy.