Childcare work between the existing and the potential: Exploring democratic perspectives on professional practice and development

The paper discusses preliminary findings from an action research project on professionals’ work with children’s wellbeing in Danish childcare institutions. Focus is on democratic potentials of and tensions in professional practices. Democracy is a pressing concern for childcare institutions: Institutions play a role in societal distribution of privilege; professionals increasingly experience disempowerment; and international educational policies marginalize democratic discussions about educational goals. The research project studies implications for childcare institutions and professionals of these types of processes and explores possibilities for empowerment of professionals and for the reintroduction of democratic perspectives into research on and development of childcare work.