– deres livsførelse og konflikter med de professionelle

Abstract

The present article is based on the Ph.D dissertation: Pedagogy Behind Bars (Hoffmann, 2018). It is a social psychological investigation of the pedagogical praksis from an intersubjective and dialogical perspective including children and professional staff. The article is a revised version of my Ph.D. defense which took place at Roskilde University November 9 2018.

In Denmark we see an increasing tendency to institutionalize children under the age of 18 in secure accommodations. The pedagogues have a double function in the everyday practice of a secure accomodation. They must control the children (what they are allowed to do, when and how) and at the same time they must involve the children’s self-determination in different ways. This is normally understood as a clash between control efforts and pedagogical intentions of change. The conflict is regarded as difficult to unite in the everyday life of the institution. In this article I show that in spite of the difficult conditions of the functions of custody and resocialisation in a secured in- stitution there are many possibilities for pe- dagogical initiatives, which are realized in different ways.