The Presence of Pedagogy and Care in Leisure-time Centres’ Local Documents: Leisure-time Teachers’ Documented Reflections

Abstract

MANY COUNTRIES OFFER younger school children school-age child care. However, the governance, organisation and practical activities and its relation to education and care differs within and between countries. In Scandinavia, the concept of Educare acknowledges the need for emotional, social and intellectual aspects of the holistic view of learning. The Swedish leisure-time centres (LTC) designed for younger school children have, by tradition, an identity that strongly relates to aspects of care. This study aims to gain knowledge of leisure-time teachers’ (LTT) reflections on how pedagogy and care appear in LTCs’ local documents. After examining the written reflections of 22 groups of LTTs involved in a professional development course, it can be argued that care is fundamental to the LTC activities; however, this notion is simultaneously challenged by neoliberal tendencies.