Interpreting values in daily practices of Nordic preschools: A cross cultural analysis

This study explored how practitioners interpreted educational practicesfrom the perspective of values in Nordic preschools. Drawing data from groupinterviews in five Nordic countries (Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway andSweden), practitioners reflected on an observational episode about children dressingfor outdoor play in a Swedish preschool. The research material consisted of extractsfrom group interviews in ten preschools (two from each Nordic country). Theresearch questions included: How do values emerge in practitioners’ interpretations?What is the interpretive process like, especially in the context of crossculturalresearch? The research material was analysed nationally and cross-nationally.Using Gadamer’s concept of horizons, the study examined how practitionersmade sense of the dressing episode, including the horizons of the text thatattracted the practitioners’ attention and the co-construction of interpretations in thegroup dialogues. The practitioners employed indirect means more often than directmeans to express their values. The group interviews contained themes that wereconnected to caring, disciplinary, competence and democratic values. The studyprovided evidence that practitioners shared some core pedagogical ideas and valuesacross Nordic preschools. Differences were apparent between individual practitionersand preschools rather than between the Nordic countries.