Morality in parents' stories of preschool choice: narrating identity positions of good parenting

• Published in: British journal of sociology of education Vol. 34; no. 2; pp. 208 - 224
• Main Authors: Karlsson, Marie, Löfdahl, Annica, Prieto, Héctor Pérez
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Abingdon Routledge 01.03.2013; Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group; Taylor & Francis; Taylor & Francis Ltd
• Subjects: Behavior; Child care; Child. Socialization; Childrearing Practices; Choices; Decision Making; Discourse; Education; Educational History; Educational Quality; Educational sociology; Educational Work; Ethics; Ethics and moral life; Foreign Countries; Identity; Interviews; marketisation; Marketization; Moral Values; Morality; narrative; Narratives; Parent Attitudes; parental identity; Parenting Styles; Parents; Parents & parenting; Pedagogik; Pedagogiskt arbete; Pre-school education; Preschool choice; Preschool Education; Preschool teachers; Private Schools; Privatization; Public Schools; School Choice; Sociology; Sociology of education. Educational systems. Lifelong education; Sociology of knowledge and ethics; Sociology of knowledge and sociology of culture; Sociology of the family. Age groups; Sweden; Teachers; Sweden; Choice; Morality; Privatization; Parent; Narrative; Parenting practice; Child care service; Social Identity; Preschool Education; Commodification
• ISSN: 0142-5692; 1465-3346; 1465-3346
• DOI: 10.1080/01425692.2012.714248

This article aims to contribute to our understanding of how moral aspects of parents' choices of preschool play a part in the processes of marketisation and privatisation of childcare in Sweden. The paper explores parents' narratives of preschool choice as moral claims of parental identities. The analysed data are based on a study of how parents make sense of their preschool choice during life-story interviews. Our results point out good parenting as having to do with making distinctions between what is 'good and bad' and 'right and wrong' regardless of whether the choices concern preschools or the behaviour of preschool teachers and parents. Culturally available discourses become visible through the making of these distinctions in ways that ultimately point to the subject position of parents as particular choosers as related to a prevailing discourse of parental responsibility.