Problems in vulnerable families are multilayered and include the intersection
of physical, psychosocial and other forms of distress. The multidimensional
nature of the problems of these families is closely linked to
the fact that there are many institutions in the field of education, social
welfare, health care and others, in which treatment and support are not
satisfactory or adapted to their needs. The article presents the partial
results of a large-scale qualitative research study, results that refer to
the position of vulnerable families in the context of preschool education.
The study examined how vulnerability is experienced by parents of
preschool children, how the expert workers in the preschools involved
in the study responded to the parents’ vulnerability, and how they cooperated
with experts from other services outside the preschool. A
qualitative research method was used in the study. Data was collected
partly through semi-structured interviews with various expert workers
employed in two preschools, as well as with the parents of children in
the preschools; the interviews were conducted individually and in focus
groups. Using thematic analysis (Braun & Clarke, 2006), we have identified
four representative themes: amongst parents, the two recurring
themes can be subsumed under the headings “from door to door” and
“adaptation/flexibility”, and amongst experts, under the headings “powerlessness/
incompetence/lack of information” and “power/innovation/
sensitivity”. The study finds that the ability to effectively contend with
vulnerability presumes a reconceptualisation of the attitude of institutional
preschool education towards the family, including a change in the
professional role of preschool teachers.
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