”Nu är man betydligt mer försiktig”: Förskollärare om den fysiska kontakten mellan pedagoger och barn

Many studies have reported that there has been a change over time in the physical contact betweeneducators and children. The purpose of this study is to investigate how experienced preschool teachers describe the historical changes that have taken place during their professional lives in terms of the view of physical contact between educators and children. The empirical material consists of semi-structured interviews with 30 qualified preschool teachers. The material has been analyzed on the basis of Beck’s theory of risk society and the concepts “becoming” and “being”. The results show that the participants express that the view has changed within four different areas, which in turn affects how physical contact between educators and children is perceived. These four areas are the view of the child, of the role of preschool teachers, of male educators, and of nudity. It is well known that the view of the preschool teaching profession, as well as the view of children, have changed and the awareness of the historical change is part of the preschool teacher education. The view of male educators from a historical perspective has been investigated in many studies. Changes in the view of nudity, on the other hand, have been discussed to a lesser extent. Overall, changed views in all four areas have led to a more restrictive approach to physical contact. In the worst case, this may mean that children’s need for physical contact and  physical closeness is overshadowed in preschool.