Unnoticed Professional Competence in Day Care Work

Authors

  • Annegrethe Ahrenkiel Department of Psychology and Educational Studies, Roskilde University
  • Camilla Schmidt Department of Psychology and Educational Studies, Roskilde University
  • Birger Steen Nielsen Department of Psychology and Educational Studies, Roskilde University
  • Finn Sommer Department of Psychology and Educational Studies, Roskilde University
  • Niels Warring Department of Psychology and Educational Studies, Roskilde University

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.19154/njwls.v3i2.2551

Keywords:

Learning & compentencies, Identity, meaning & culture, Organization & management

Abstract

This article presents a double perspective on social educators’ professional competence: It discusses how everyday life in day care centres (preschools) is dependent on professional competences that can be conceived as “unnoticed.” These aspects of professional competence are embedded in routines, experiences and embodied forms of knowledge. However, it may be discussed whether these competences are under pressure from increased demands for documentation, standardization and evaluation of children’s learning outcomes. The article will briefly outline this development in the day care sector, followed by a discussion of unnoticed professional competence and the related notion of gestural knowledge. The double perspective on social educators’ professional competences will be illuminated by empirical examples from a research project involving social educators from two day care centres in Denmark.

Author Biographies

Annegrethe Ahrenkiel, Department of Psychology and Educational Studies, Roskilde University

Associate Professor

Camilla Schmidt, Department of Psychology and Educational Studies, Roskilde University

Associate Professor

Birger Steen Nielsen, Department of Psychology and Educational Studies, Roskilde University

Professor

Finn Sommer, Department of Psychology and Educational Studies, Roskilde University

Associate Professor

Niels Warring, Department of Psychology and Educational Studies, Roskilde University

Associate Professor. email: warring@ruc.dk

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Published

2013-05-01

How to Cite

Ahrenkiel, A., Schmidt, C., Nielsen, B. S., Sommer, F., & Warring, N. (2013). Unnoticed Professional Competence in Day Care Work. Nordic Journal of Working Life Studies, 3(2), 79–96. https://doi.org/10.19154/njwls.v3i2.2551