‘They need to … ’: Exploring practitioners’ attitudes in relation to newcomer migrant children’s needs in Norwegian day care

Abstract

Taking a critical stance on day care as a social site for democratic practice, this article focusses on practitioners’ attitudes regarding including newcomer migrant children in the assessment of their needs and decision-making processes in Norwegian day care. Considering the needs-discourse as a way of conveying both policy-makers’ and practitioners’ conclusions about the requirements of migrant children’s childhoods, we reveal how the individual agency of practitioners is captured by developmental culture-bound norms regarding what an ideal childhood should be.