Transitions at the Åpen Barnehage in an Immigrant Neighborhood—Through the Lens of Parental Guidance

This investigation aimed to understand the perspective of parents and staff about the role of parental guidance at the Åpen Barnehage, a Norwegian institution projected to be an open space for families with children near compulsory school age that do not attend the regular kindergarten. Transitions are the processes of elaboration followed by ruptures on the “taken for granted” aspects of one's reality such as moving to another country, starting school or even going through a developmental phase, for instance (Zittoun, Eur J Psychol Educ 23:121–130, 2008). The Åpen Barnehage in this immigrant neighborhood, therefore, can be characterized as a place that supports the transitions of families in the Norwegian system. Based on this hypothesis, the exploration followed three levels of perception; (1) the support they propose to offer, (2) the parental guidance and (3) the power relation and the diversity aspects present in it. The data construction was carried out through observations of daily activities and through interviews, analyzed using the content analysis method (Bengtsson, NursinPlus Open 2:8–14, 2016), and triangulated by the researchers, each responsible for one of the levels. The results indicated that parents do not seem to seek parental guidance, although they look for a place where they can benefit from the skills and support of professionals. These differences in the staff and parents’ perspectives on parental guidance and the goal of the institution highlighted some power-relations that might exist as different dynamics on the surface and at the core. There was also an indication of challenges involving cultural diversity in parenting practices in comparison with the contemporary Norwegian discourse of child rearing, and strategies to deal with it such as emotional regulation. Other aspects of transitions, such as the emotional challenges and the creation of meaning, were also found.