The institutional cultures of the preschool class

Abstract

Based on the assumption that teachers are policy actors, this study aims to identify the meanings given to the preschool class’s institutional cultures in teachers’ articulations about the preschool class. This is done by analysing the values and attitudes that the teachers emphasize as being central to the preschool class’s mission and teaching. The study builds on group discussions with teachers at five schools. The theoretical point of departure is that institutional cultures are articulated by actors and become a tool for them to understand their own role and context, while also changing their culture through these actions. Institutional cultures are multidimensional and are articulated as a qualifying institutional culture, a flexible institutional culture, and an institutional culture that emphasizes the boundaries of the preschool class.