Fritidshemmets vardagspraktik i ett nytt diskursivt landskap

Abstract

School-age educare traditions are in many ways separate from school traditions. School-age educare traditions have, however, for a long time been subjects for a transformation process since newer steering documents, directed to the leisure-time centre, emphasize traditional school concepts as education, pupils and learning. This article highlights how the amalgamating between the traditional content and the state´s regulating intentions to change the activity is managed by the staff at one leisure-time centre by studying what activities the staff highlights and what approach they use in their interactions with the pupils. Data is based on six weeks of field work including participating observations, field notes and walk-and-talk conversations. The study shows that the staff emphasize the importance of free play and, with the help of conversations, try to get in touch with the children and make them feel safe and comfortable. The staff´s points of departure for managing the everyday practice seems to be rooted in older schoolage educare traditions despite the government´s efforts to orchestrating the activity.