Män som förskollärare - pedagog, pappa eller presumtiv pedofil?

Abstract

The purpose of this thesis is to explore whether male kindergarten teachers perceive additional expectations from their surroundings (such as co-workers and parents). Furthermore, we aim to understand and explain how these expectations are related to gender norms and hierarchies in society, that is social constructions concerning what men and women should do and be like. In addition, the thesis aspire to understand and explain how these constructions relate to more specific social constructions about sexual molestations in kindergarten contexts and explore how these discourses influence male kindergarten teachers in their work including which strategies they use in order to cope with them. How do male kindergarten teachers perceive additional expectations from their surroundings? How do male kindergarten teachers perceive the effects and consequences of the social constructions about sexual molestations in kindergarten contexts? Do they use coping strategies in order to attend to the expectations projected on them, and if so, what kind of strategies? The thesis is based on a phenomenological approach and conducted through interviews with six male kindergarten teachers. The interviews were directed with an interview guide in hand while allowing for spontaneous input from the interviewee. The use of an interview guide provides for a standardization of the interview, ensuring a good reliability. An argument for a high grade of validity is that the interpretations where made by both of us, thereby preventing misconceptions and false analyses. The thesis concludes that the social constructions about sexual molestations in kindergarten contexts can be seen as a tool for regulating the violations on society´s conception of what men and women should do and be like. It is clear that the interviewees perceive additional expectations and they do use certain strategies in order to cope with them.