Care at Stake in Warly Childhood Settings

Dilemmas and Challenges in the Professional Leadership of Care: An Ethics of Care Analysis

Abstract

From a care‑ethical perspective (Tronto, 1993), I examine how the professional leadership of care is negotiated and developed, particularly in light of policy and conditions of early childhood settings. Tronto (1993) argues that the societal significance of care must be made visible and strengthened at a broader political level (Politics with a capital P) before we can expect care to receive the necessary attention in, for example, early childhood education (politics with a lowercase p). In this article, I take a different approach by seeking to illuminate the dilemmas and challenges associated with the professional leadership of care at the everyday practice level (politics with a lowercase p), which in turn calls for a strengthening of care at the administrative and political level (Politics with a capital P). The study is based on interviews with ten early childhood leaders, half of whom work in settings located in socio‑economically disadvantaged residential areas. The findings show that the leaders place great value on caring for children, parents, and staff, and that supporting care and developing staff as caregivers is regarded as a core task. Through a care‑ethical lens, it becomes clear that the leaders’ dilemmas and challenges related to the professional leadership of care are not only professional or organizational but also reflect a lack of involvement from municipal administrations and politicians in assuming responsibility for care. This is particularly evident in settings located in socio‑economically disadvantaged areas, where care is at stake, and where leaders describe everyday conditions marked by inequality and injustice for both children and adults — conditions that call for administrative and political care.

Keywords:
Care ethics, early childhood settings, professional leadership, conditions, structural frameworks, interviews