Family learning environments in Scandinavia: dimensions, types and socioeconomic profiles

Abstract

In this paper, we use data from 44 Danish families to develop a new conceptual framework for analysing family learning environments and how they shape children’s opportunities in the Scandinavian context. We use data from qualitative interviews and a new smartphone app to outline six key dimensions of family learning environments that intersect in four types, which we label Expansive curators, Recreational home dwellers, Casual pragmatists and Disempowered strugglers. The dimensions and types of family learning environments provide a conceptual framework for (1) identifying a set of mechanisms that might explain intergenerational associations in socioeconomic outcomes; (2) linking dimensions of family learning environments often studied in isolation (e.g. family activities and networks); (3) incorporating dimensions of learning environments rarely considered (e.g. day care and children’s use of digital devices); and (4) distinguishing socioeconomic gradients in family learning environments.