Kuka lasta kasvattaa? Vanhemmuuden ja yhteiskunnallisen kasvatuksen suhde vanhempien puheessa

Abstract

Lapset ovat jo varhain tekemisissä kasvatuksen ammattilaisten, kuten perhepäivähoitajien, lastentarhanopettajien, opettajien tai psykologien kanssa. Tämä institutionaalinen kasvatus ulottuu perheisiin myös joukkoviestinten sekä vanhempien lukeminen oppaiden kautta, ja ammattilaisten puhetavoista on tullut osa vanhempien kieltä.

Laajan haastatteluaineistoon perustuva teos selvittää, miten vanhemmat tulkitsevat kasvatusvastuun jakautumisen kodin, päivähoidon ja koulun kesken. Miten vanhemmat itse mieltävät roolinsa? Entä onko ammattikasvattajilla valmiuksia ottaa vanhemmat tasavertaisiksi kumppaneiksi arjen kasvatustyöhön? Mikä on vanhempien ja mikä taas asiantuntijoiden rooli pulmatilanteissa? Ja miten yhteistyö eri osapuolten kesken sujuisi luontevasti?

Teos on tarpeellista luettavaa lasten ja perheiden kanssa työskenteleville, niin vanhemmille kuin kasvatuksen ammattilaisillekin. se soveltuu myös sosiaali- ja terveysalan oppimateriaaliksi. Kirjoittaja on perheterapiaan erikoistunut psykologi.

Who is Raising the Child? Mothers and Fathers Constructing the Role of Parents and Professionals in Child Development

The study examines how parenting and the role of professionals in child development are discursively constructed by parents. The aim of the study is to clarify what kind of interpretations the parents have about their role as a parent and about the role of the institutional education in day care and in school. In addition the parental interpretations of the role of the mental health professionals in the child s treatment are studied.

The study is based on transcribed interviews of 24 parents from 17 families. There were 17 mothers and 7 fathers who participated in the research. The age of the children in focus was 5-11 years. In 10 of the families the child had been defined as having behavioural or emotional problems.

The theoretical framework is social constructionism and the method used is discourse analysis. The analytical concepts of the study are interpretative repertoire and explanatory system. The interpretative repertoire is used in analyzing the cultural systems of meanings which are available for the parents and which they take advantage of in their accounts. The concept of explanatory system is used in clarifying how the parents construct coherence in their talk and what kind of identity they construct in this process. The results of the research are presented by case analysis and also by introducing the interpretative repertoires common in the interviews.

The study presents the meanings attached to full-time mothering and home care of the child. It also describes the interpretations of the role of day care in child development and the consequences of these interpretations to the role of parenting. The relationship and collaboration between parents and school are also analysed as well as the parental interpretations about their role as clients in child mental health services. In addition, the study examines questions concerning maternal and parental guilt from the point of view of the parents.

The study shows that on the one hand the traditional interpretation about the importance of mother and mothering is strong. On the other hand, in parent s talk the role of day care is emphasized because of its pedagogical and educational functions. This emphasis also questions the adequacy of full-time mothering in bringing up the child. In addition the study discusses the parental interpretation that defines child upbringing and education as a project in which the active role of the adult and his/her intensive relationship to the child are essential. This project view also underlines the role of professionals in child development. From the perspective of the parent, collaboration with professionals becomes an important element in good parenting. In parental interpretations of functional collaboration the division of power and the expertise of parents are emphasized.