The purpose of education: pedagogues’ and teachers’ negotiations in Danish primary schools^*

* The article builds on an article published in the Danish journal, Unge pædagoger [Young Pedagogues]. Our English article is expanded, e.g. concerning a contextualization of the pedagogue profession in a Nordic and Danish perspective and the analyses of our empirical findings.

Abstract

In 2014, the Danish primary school system went through a major reform. One main change is the greater participation of pedagogues in school. This is a dramatic change both for teachers and for pedagogues, a distinct profession, traditionally working outside school and representing a creative and social approach to learning and wellbeing. This article examines how teachers and pedagogues in an action research project negotiate their new common work and which understandings of good pedagogical practice these negotiations express. The article shows that international educational rationales about learnification and attainment that are found in the Danish reform, affect the professionals’ understandings of professionalism and educational practices, and that this marginalises some traditional pedagogical practices. However, the article also shows that both pedagogues and teachers critique dominant educational policy rationales and explore what space for action exists in the reform.

Keywords:

• Learning
• Bildung
• attainment
• profession struggles
• primary education
• purpose of education

Acknowledgement

The authors wish to thank Marianne Brodersen, who played a central role in shaping the design of the project, carrying out the empirical work and qualifying the analyses, and FOA, the union for pedagogue assistants, who supported the project financially.

Notes

* The article builds on an article published in the Danish journal, Unge pædagoger [Young Pedagogues]. Our English article is expanded, e.g. concerning a contextualization of the pedagogue profession in a Nordic and Danish perspective and the analyses of our empirical findings.

1. In Danish, the expression is ‘peddigrør’; a derogatory term associated with activities at workshops where people (e.g. disabled, elderly or unemployed) pass time (or are kept busy) with meaningless activities.