Does teaching in educare include all children?

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to problematize teachers’ perspectives on supporting children with special needs in school-age educare. The following question guides the study: What discourses appear in teachers' talk about teaching children with special needs in school-age educare? Today, the school-age educare is expected to be responsible for both pupils' care and their education. The image gleaned from previous research is that the school-age educare lies in a field of tension between a social pedagogical discourse and an educational discourse (Augustsson & Hörnell, 2021; Lager, 2015; Skolforskningsinstitutet, 2021). School-age educare historically rests on a social pedagogical tradition, with the focus centered on care and social education directed towards values ​​and relationships - to enable a sense of belonging (Lager, 2015). As a result revisions conducted in 2016 when the school-age educare received its own chapter in the curriculum, an educational pedagogical discourse has emerged (Ackesjö & Haglund, 2021; Augustsson & Hörnell, 2021). The educational pedagogical discourse includes that school-age educare must meet the responsibilities regarding required extra adaptations and special support, as formulated in the Educational Act (SFS 2010: 800) and in the curriculum (Skolverket, 2019). The Swedish school-age educare is unique in comparison with many other countries in that it is a voluntary, but still has an expressed responsibility in terms of extra adaptations and special support for pupils (SFS 2010: 800; Skolverket, 2019).

Previous research shows that several aspects seem to be common regarding special education and extended education in school-age educare. The most important aspect seems to be school-age educare teachers' own values ​​and views of students, as these affect both the choice of content in the teaching and how teaching is carried out (Skolforskningsinstitutet, 2021; Willén Lundgren & Karlsudd, 2013). The importance of starting from the pupils' interests and needs and that the pupils must be independent and make their own choices so that they feel that learning is meaningful are emphasized (Lundqvist, 2016; Skolforskningsinstitutet, 2021). Furthermore, pupils should have opportunities to play, learn to get along with others, and develop social and relational abilities (Augustsson & Hörnell, 2021; Haglund, 2018; Holmberg & Kane, 2020). Finally, participation is something that happens together with others, and therefore teachers should organize the large group in a thoughtful way, so that all pupils experience participation, togetherness and belonging (Karlsudd, 2020b; Ludvigsson & Falkner, 2019; Orwehag, 2020).

The study framework is based on social constructionist theory formation. The methodology makes use of discourse analysis, which makes it possible to examine the norms and values ​​woven into teachers' talk about teaching in school-age educare. Discourse analysis allows study of the central role of language when school-age educare teachers create their reality in focus group discussions. The purpose of the study's Foucault-inspired analyses is to open up reflection and alternative ways of thinking and speaking other than those that have spread and become natural and dominant regarding teaching children in need of special support. The analysis identifies four discourses: talk about value-relational teaching, talk about teaching children in need of particularly good relationships, talk about teaching in a complex everyday life, and talk about teaching children in need of special support. An empirical model illustrates how the discourses relate to when the school-age educare teachers express that a value-relational approach is in the foreground and in the background, and when the teaching is based on a child perspective or approaches a child's perspective.