«Dette blir garantert en legendarisk sesong!» En mikro-etnografisk studie av kulturen på en barnehageavdeling bestående av tre (mannlige) ansatte.
Abstract
The title of this thesis is: "This will definitely be a legendary season! A microethnographic
study of a culture in a preschool classroom1 consisting of three (male)
employees»
Through a micro-ethnographic approach and a hermeneutic inspired foundation, I have
tried to describe the culture of a preschool classroom consisting of three male
employees. A classroom comprised of only male employees is a rarity in today's society,
where only about ten percent of all the employees of preschools are of the male gender
(Statistisk sentralbyrå, 2012). My experiences as a male preschool teacher affect my preunderstanding
and my interpretations. Through an insider's perspective, I try to
understand and find meaning in the staff's life and culture. My micro-ethnographic work
consists of observations, informal conversations in everyday conversation and scheduled
conversational interviews with the staff. This thesis has two different perspectives; a cultural perspective and a gender
perspective. Research questions related to the cultural perspective consist of finding out
how a staff that consists of only male members works, and how they would describe
themselves and their work. My interpretation of how the staff members work and how
they describe themselves are combined to create a picture of the culture in the preschool
classroom. The gender perspective consists of finding out whether, and in what ways,
their gender may influence the culture in the preschool classroom.
The staff describe themselves as professional, humorous and loving caregivers that take
their time and don’t rush. They express that they are coordinated and synchronized
because they are similar, and at the same time different from each other and
complementary. The staff member's gender is referred to as both relevant and irrelevant,
showing ambiguities and contradictions in their descriptions of themselves and the
culture of the classroom. To avoid reproducing gender stereotypical perceptions and descriptions of men and
women in the preschool, I have chosen to analyze the empirical basis of a cultural
perspective, as later discussed on the basis of a gender perspective in a separate section
after the analysis. The culture arising in this section is not intended to be generalizing
about how all men are working or describe themselves and their work, but my
interpretation of a culture that has arisen on the basis of three unique individuals have
worked together in a particular context.
Description
Master i barnehagepedagogikk