This book deals with the behavior of pedagogical professionals in day-care centers towards the children they look after there. Against the background of equal opportunities, the study looks in particular at evaluating aspects in connection with the social background of the children, since the social status in Germany still has a considerable influence on educational success.
So far, there has been little research into how equal opportunities are implemented in day-care centers and kindergartens. This book aims to provide information about this. It is examined whether all children in a group within the day care center have the same access to possibilities and chances, or whether this is prevented by the judgmental behavior of the educational staff.
This study is based on the assumption that discriminatory and disadvantageous behavior can also be transferred to educators in kindergartens and day care centers. There is an assumption that questioning one's own objectivity in attitude and behavior is often considered difficult.
From the content:
- Equal opportunities;
- Discrimination;
- Behavior;
- Ideas;
- Ratings
Table of contents
Abstract
Introduction
1 Thematic limitation and state of research
1.1 Requirements of day-care facilities with regard to social inequalities
1.2 Pedagogical staff
1.3 The implementation of professionalism in practice
2 Central question and objective
3 Methodical approach
3.1 Choice of methods
4 Results
4.1 Educator 1
4.2 Educator 2
5 Outlook
5.1 Scope and limitations of the method
5.2 Reflection of the investigation
5.3 Conclusion
6 Bibliography
Appendix:
ANNEX A.1
ANNEX B.1
ANNEX B.2
ANNEX B.3
ANNEX C.1
ANNEX C.2
ANNEX D.1
ANNEX D.2
Abstract
In this study, the access to equal opportunities of children in a day care center and kindergarten were analyzed. In here, the access is linked to the judgmental behavior of the pedagogical staff. The objective was to find out, if equal opportunities exists in a randomly chosen kindergarten day group and to which extent equal opportunities are feasible. The research took place in the form of a participatory observation and the observation sheets were evaluated by the documentary method. It turned out, that the tested sample of educators behaved judgemental and in a dissimilar way. Children were treated disadvantaged and discriminatorily, because of their demographic characteristics. This leads to the conclusion, that equal opportunity is only feasible, if the pedagogical staff will gain more knowledge within their course of education in order to develop professional behavior and thus, the abilities of critical self- reflexion.
Keywords: equal opportunity, discrimination, behavior, pedagogical staff, valuations
Introduction
Education is more important today than ever. Everywhere in the world and in Germany, the aim is to achieve the best possible educational qualification in order to be able to learn and practice a well-paid and socially respected profession. The fact is, however, that many people are not able to achieve a good school leaving certificate. This is not always due to themselves: It has been found that children with a socially disadvantaged background are disadvantaged in school in terms of their performance compared to children from a better socialized environment, with the result that the children who are considered to be socially disadvantaged sometimes remain so for a lifetime. The reason for this is a lack of educational qualifications such as.B.dem (technical) Abitur, which enables students to study. A course of study, in turn, qualifies for academic professions, which are generally regarded as respected and well paid. There are many reasons why a child is classified as socially weak: Due to parents with a low school leaving certificate, a low annual income or unemployment, a place of residence in a socially deprived area, poverty, migration background, etc. Since many people have a negative attitude towards these factors, they often do not treat socially disadvantaged people like others and discriminate against them, devalue them. If these people include teachers, it is unfortunately the sad truth that children with a socially disadvantaged or uneducated background often cannot achieve a high level of education because their achievements and abilities are degraded.
In order for children with educationally disadvantaged and socially disadvantaged backgrounds to also be able to achieve a high level of education and so that they have the same starting opportunities as all other children, they must be promoted. This must happen before entering school, namely from the moment you are admitted to a pre-school social institution. Equal opportunities should already be experienced here: All children should have the same opportunities and possibilities to lead the life they want and hope for in the future. Unfortunately, hardly any research has been done on how the equal opportunities demanded by the federal and state governments are implemented in day-care centres and kindergartens. The present work is now intended to provide information on this: It investigates whether all children in a group within the day care centre have equal access to opportunities and opportunities, or whether this is prevented by the behaviour of the pedagogical staff, which is characterised by evaluations. This is based on the assumption that the sometimes discriminatory and disadvantageous behaviour of teachers and educators in schools may also be transferred to the educators and educators in kindergartens and day-care centres. The topic of the work is also derived from the assumption that questioning one's own objectivity in attitude and behavior is often considered difficult.
The present work is intended to narrow down the topic thematically and give an overview of the current state of research. Thus, argumentatively to the already mentioned question is led. A research hypothesis and the concrete goals of the research project are also formulated here. Subsequently, the research design with regard to the methods used is explained. This is followed by a presentation and interpretative evaluation of the collected data. In the subsequent outlook, reference is made to the research approach to the results of the investigation. In addition, the investigation is narrowed down and reflected, followed by a final conclusion.
1 Thematic limitation and state of research
The education debate, triggered by the PISA study of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) from 2000 and its results published in 2001 (Seitz, 2003, p. 2), is still up-to-date. The "Programme for International Student Assessment" is an international, standardised performance measurement in which the knowledge and skills of 15-year-old pupils are measured towards the end of compulsory schooling in order to be able to draw conclusions about the functioning or performance of the respective education system. (Baumert et al., 2001, p. 15). Germany succumbs to an "education shock" (Fthenakis, 2002), when it is demonstrably known that German pupils perform below average in an international performance comparison (Expert Commission Twelfth Report on Children and Youth, 2005, p. 103). An education reform is called for. "The politicians realized that they should reform the education system and optimize its function and efficiency, whereby they of course very quickly came up with the idea of upgrading the elementary education" (Bachler, 2004/2004, p. 387). There is a social rethink: After the German Federal Council had already declared kindergarten to be an elementary area of the German education system in 1970, but in the course of time it was nevertheless regarded as a pure care institution, the impetus has now been given to re-award the kindergarten an educational function that must be expanded. (Liegle, 2006, p. 7). This focus on "education from the beginning" (Liegle, 2006, p. 7) is stimulated, among other things, on the basis of developmental psychological findings, which state, for example, that intensive learning processes take place in the first years of a child's life, through which he develops competencies that can significantly influence the course of his or her further life. (Bachler, 2004, p. 387). After Blasius und Große (2010) "(...) In the course of the last few years, an image of the child that is associated with attributions of competence has developed – throughout Germany" (Beyer, 2013, p. 29). The concept of education is changing: Contrary to the conception of education in the sense of school-acquired knowledge, it becomes clear that education is an active process that takes place in early childhood and must be promoted (Böllert, 2014, p. 172).
Due to the changed family structures included in the change in society (single parents, separated parents, stepfamilies, etc.), in which it is sometimes no longer possible to look after the children within the family, the institution kindergarten is expanded into the institution of day care for children (Commission of Experts Twelfth Report on Children and Youth, 2005, p. 17). Here it is possible to look after children during the day, instead of only half a day, as usual before. Due to the change in the family culture and the associated question regarding the responsibility of adequate support for the child, it becomes clear that full-day care in day-care centres is not sufficient if the legal entitlement to a kindergarten place only takes effect from the age of three, as stipulated in the Child and Youth Welfare Act in accordance with §24 paragraph 3 (Federal Ministry of Justice and Consumer Protection, 1990, § 24, (3)). Therefore, the expansion of the so-called U3 support was started. Children from the age of one can now be admitted to day-care centres, where they are supported in their education and development. Since 1 August 2013, it has been enshrined in the Child and Youth Welfare Act in accordance with §24, paragraph 2 that children from the age of one are entitled to early childhood support in a day care centre or in child day care (Federal Ministry of Justice and Consumer Protection, 1990, §24, (2)). The step from half-day care to all-day care as well as the expansion of the U3 level has consequences that affect both the structural framework conditions of the institutions and the pedagogical staff. With the new understanding of education in the course of the educational reform, demands are placed on the municipalities, sponsors, institutions and pedagogical staff on the part of politics and society (Jungbauer & Ehlen, 2015). Quality standards are required, the fulfillment of which is considered a prerequisite for the optimization of the elementary education as part of the German education system: "It is undisputed that the quality of education in day care and day care facilities must be improved if the goal of early education in institutional contexts is to be satisfactorily implemented" (Expert Commission Twelfth Report on Children and Youth, 2005, pp. 33–34). In order to develop this quality in German day-care facilities, the Ministry of Family, Children, Youth, Culture and Sport of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia and the Ministry of School and Further Education of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia developed educational principles as orientation and recommendations for pedagogical work in day-care facilities at the beginning of 2016. These have the goal of "(...) to challenge and promote the child in the development of his personality individually, holistically and resource-oriented" (Ministry of Family, Children, Youth Culture and Sport of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia & Ministry of School and Further Education of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia, 2016, p. 11). Whether these (already revised) recommendations for action from 2016 can contribute to quality development in day-care centres has not yet been empirically proven. However, it could well be a help in coping with the many demands on the institutions and the pedagogical staff, which will be explained in the further course.
The institutional level of a day care center includes aspects such as.B conception, framework conditions, personnel management, quality management, financing, premises, etc. In this respect, institutions in North Rhine-Westphalia are guided by the "KiBiz", a legal anchoring of all requirements that must be met (Children's Education Act, 2016). It is pointed out that the principles for the promotion of education of the state of North Rhine-Westphalia should be specifically oriented. In the conception of an institution, among other things, "(...) Explanations on the acclimatization phase, on the promotion of education, in particular on language and motor support, on securing the rights of children, on measures of quality development and assurance and on educational partnership with parents". (Ministry of the Interior and Municipal Affairs of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia, 2007). This is not only time-consuming in development, but also in execution. For example, a child who is acclimatized must establish a relationship with a pedagogical professional. For this to succeed, the caregiver must always be present in the institution and always available to the child in order to be able to establish close contact with the child. Familiarization phases must therefore be considered and planned in personnel management (Ministry of Family, Children, Youth Culture and Sport of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia & Ministry of School and Further Education of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia, 2016, p. 26). The educational partnership, for example, also requires a high time intensity, as continuous work must be done on the relationship with the parents. This can be achieved in the form of organized offers (parent cafés, internships, etc.) (Ministry of Family, Children, Youth Culture and Sport of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia & Ministry of School and Further Education of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia, 2016, p. 61), which is an additional organizational task. If the framework conditions are not adapted to the new situation, this leads to a loss of quality (Nied, 2011, p. 42). A day care centre for children in North Rhine-Westphalia is required to comply with the requirements of the state. In doing so, she must always take these into account both in the conception and in everyday kindergarten life. Careful planning, development and practice of these areas is required in order to be able to generate the required high quality standard in the facility.
Not only the below-average academic performance of German students stimulates the educational policy debate about a reform of the German education system, but also the fact that the educational success of German children is linked to their family background. Children from socially disadvantaged and socially disadvantaged families are also disadvantaged at school and achieve poorer performance (Expert Commission Twelfth Report on Children and Youth, 2005, p. 103). In addition to "education from the beginning" (Böllert, 2014, p. 172) calls for "equal opportunities from the outset". Disadvantages should be countered even before entering school, i.e. at an elementary level. (Betz, 2013, p. 259). According to Beyer (2013), equal opportunities are defined by the fact that "(...) all children, regardless of the socio-economic status of their parents, ethnic-cultural background or other potential inequality-relevant conditions, share a common everyday life and thus diverse experiences" (Beyer, 2013, p. 16). The goal of equal opportunities "(...) is equality that allows any person of any origin to develop personal abilities without being restricted by ethnic or other discriminatory role assignments." (Marschke, 2011, p. 52). According to this definition, the aim is not to treat all people or children equally, but to support the already disadvantaged children in such a way that they have the same "starting conditions" as the others. These views are based on the fact that every person and every child is different from another. There are differences in nationality, culture, religion, family background, economic conditions in which the child lives, or different social experiences and personal characteristics, characteristics and abilities that each child possesses. "Every child is therefore unique in a positive sense - heterogeneity is the norm!" (Ministry of Family, Children, Youth Culture and Sport of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia & Ministry of School and Further Education of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia, 2016, p. 47). these Diversity, the existence of differences and differences is also summarized under the term "diversity" (Rosken, 2009, p. 17). Especially against the background of the increased number of refugees and immigrants between 2015 and 2016, the topic of equal opportunities is topical in terms of education policy (Federal Ministry of the Interior, 2016).
1.1 Requirements of day-care facilities with regard to social inequalities
As already mentioned, a children's group in a day care center is usually heterogeneous. This means that all children differ from each other in their characteristics and characteristics. It also means that some of the children have probably already experienced social inequalities. What exactly is meant by the term social inequality and how the pedagogical staff must act against this background is explained below. "Social inequality occurs when people regularly receive more from the "valuable goods" of a society than others due to their position in social relationships" (Hradil & Schiener, 2001, p. 30). Due to various determinants (social positions in the general network of relationships, such as age, gender, occupation, place of residence, etc.), people have unequal access to education, which is one of the most desirable and important "valuable goods" in today's society. (Hradil & Schiener, 2001, p. 34). Another manifestation of social inequality is the grouping of individual people into a group based on their determinants. They are offered or denied various opportunities due to their particular social characteristics. (Hradil & Schiener, 2001, p. 35). In the context of this work, this means the following: For example, families who live in a place called a "social hotspot" are classified as low-educated. According to Hradil and Schiener (2001), people who have a high level of education and are therefore highly likely to earn more money than less educated people also enjoy more prestige in society. In this respect, therefore, one can speak of a definitive disadvantage of the family. Although children have not chosen a social determinant (place of residence) themselves, they are considered a member of this social group because they were "born into" it. Accordingly, they are also affected by the disadvantages that their family experiences. If children grow up in a family that has a low level of education, the family can be the child's first place of education (Liegle, 2006, p. 7) also hardly stimulate educational processes of the children, which leads to the fact that the child himself is likely to achieve even a low level of education: "In this way, educational and thus career and participation opportunities are literally "inherited"" (Klundt, 2016, p. 335).
This is where the pedagogical work of the day care centre comes in, which is intended to make a contribution to early educational support and more equal opportunities. The educational principles for the state of North Rhine-Westphalia state that a day care center must try to have a supportive effect on the disadvantaged situation, both on the children and on the family itself. An environment must be designed for the children that offers them protection and security in order to be able to cope with life history burdens, while close contact must be established with the family in order to be able to support them. (Ministry of Family, Children, Youth Culture and Sport of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia & Ministry of School and Further Education of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia, 2016, p. 48). It is required by law that discrimination is prohibited in a daycare center. According to §7, the Act on the Early Education and Promotion of Children (KiBiz) states: "The admission of a child to a day care centre may not be refused on grounds of his or her racial or ethnic origin, nationality, gender, disability, religion or belief" (Ministry of the Interior and Municipal Affairs of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia, 2007). The current situation, however, that (especially at school level) children are disadvantaged regardless of their performance due to the social background of their family (Klundt, 2016, p. 335), but also constitutes a form of discrimination. It is therefore questionable why the factor "social origin" is not listed in relation to discrimination in day-care centres in the KiBiz Discrimination Act (2007). The fact that the same law only refers to the admission of children to day-care centres also seems inadequate. Furthermore, the law should be extended to the entire kindergarten routine: No child should ever be disadvantaged and thus discriminated against by the framework structure of the institution or by the pedagogical staff due to various determinants of social inequality. Such an extension of the legal regulation on discrimination would certainly provide an impetus for research to focus more on inequality structures in day-care centres and the way in which pedagogical staff deal with them. Empirical studies on social inequality mechanisms in day-care centres have so far hardly been carried out. (Beyer, 2013, p. 46).
An institution can hardly meet the requirement for equal opportunities at institutional level. Although the Children's Education Act of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia stipulates by law that a day care centre should make a contribution to more equal opportunities (Ministry of the Interior and Municipal Affairs of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia, 2007), however, this can hardly be generated by the institution itself, as the pedagogical staff is to be held responsible here, as they are in direct interaction with the children. Equal opportunities are therefore taken for granted in day-care centres. (Beyer, 2013, p. 16), meanwhile, however, the question of how this is implemented by the pedagogical staff has hardly been the subject of empirical research so far:
In summary, it can be stated that there is still a clear lack of empirical studies that take into account the exact conditions and factors for increasing equal opportunities in kindergarten, and furthermore what role the educator (...) plays in this regard (...) (Beyer, 2013, p. 17).
As demonstrated by the PISA study, children from socially disadvantaged or socially disadvantaged backgrounds were also disadvantaged and discriminated against at school because of their family background. As a result, numerous studies (for example, the LifE study by (Fend, Berger & Grob, 2009) Relationships with regard to equal opportunities examined and established. These investigations usually took place only at the school level, while the elementary level was largely disregarded. This seems remiss given that children face social differences and disadvantages even before they start school. Although elementary institutions are given the need for action in view of the existing social inequality structures, this has no significance with regard to the concrete implementation by the personnel concerned. Therefore, it is now necessary to take a closer look at the role of pedagogical staff in their function of creating equal opportunities.
1.2 Pedagogical staff
The educational reform has far-reaching consequences, especially for the pedagogical specialists themselves. The establishment of the requirements of the KiBiz has resulted in a new range of tasks, which must be pursued with competence, subject-specific knowledge and, above all, professionalism. The quality of the pedagogical work of the specialist staff is an expression of the quality of the day care centre. The task of the sponsor and institution is to evaluate the safeguarding and further development of pedagogical work in the form of qualification criteria. These should be able to testify with regard to the accompaniment, promotion and challenge of early childhood education processes (Ministry of the Interior and Municipal Affairs of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia, 2007). Pedagogical specialists are required to continue their education and training in order to be able to demonstrate the necessary qualifications for the various areas of pedagogical work. Qualifications are to be acquired, for example, in the areas of U3 care, child endangerment, dealing with cultural diversity, parental cooperation, language promotion, inclusive pedagogy, observation and documentation, transition design, quality assurance and development, etc. (Betz, 2013, p. 261). Through the further training, the pedagogical staff is provided with specialist and development-specific knowledge about many different aspects of pedagogical work in day-care centres.1 Attending seminars and training courses alone is an expense in addition to the everyday tasks of a pedagogue in a day care center. In addition, there is the implementation of the acquired knowledge in one's own pedagogical actions. This requires competences such as self.B. self-reflection, on the basis of which pedagogical action should always be oriented. In order to be able to accompany and promote a child on his educational path, questioning one's own role, attitudes and actions plays an important role. (Ministry of Family, Children, Youth Culture and Sport of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia & Ministry of School and Further Education of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia, 2016, p. 36). In an everyday integrated observation, for example, it is important to remain objective in order to be able to evaluate the situation in a differentiated manner. (Ministry of Family, Children, Youth Culture and Sport of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia & Ministry of School and Further Education of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia, 2016, p. 36). Even in U3 care, one's own behavior as an important reference and interaction partner of the child must always be reflected. For example, you should ask yourself whether you are constantly helping to shape the child's everyday life in such a way that a sustainable relationship can develop (Ministry of Family, Children, Youth Culture and Sport of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia & Ministry of School and Further Education of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia, 2016, p. 26). Especially with regard to cultural diversity, heterogeneity, inclusion and equal opportunities, reflecting on one's own behavior and perspective plays an important role: "On the part of specialists and teachers, this requires questioning the subjective attitude towards heterogeneity and disabilities" (Ministry of Family, Children, Youth Culture and Sport of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia & Ministry of School and Further Education of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia, 2016, p. 49). Based on the assumption that every child is unique and different, one must be sufficiently trained in his pedagogical work in order not to (unknowingly) discriminate or discriminate against the children. Every child should be given the same opportunities, and this can only be achieved by approaching each child openly and impartially, regardless of demographic factors. This presupposes a certain professionalism, which must be present in all already listed (new) areas of work of the pedagogical staff, but especially with regard to the handling of social inequality structures. Therefore, for a better understanding, the term "professionalism" will be explained below.
1.2.1 Definition of professionalism
According to Nied (2011), professionalism in pedagogical work can be promoted by continuously participating in training courses and working groups in order to develop and deepen specific competences. Constant observation and documentation as well as reflection and exchange in the team are also listed. (Nied, 2011, p. 43). This seems plausible, as professional action requires specialist knowledge and a constant expansion of this knowledge. Professional action is defined in the educational principles for North Rhine-Westphalia as knowledge of development and educational processes, the importance of social contexts as well as attachment theories, resilience development and didactic and methodological competences (Ministry of Family, Children, Youth Culture and Sport of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia & Ministry of School and Further Education of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia, 2016, p. 64). Nevertheless, according to Nied (2011), this action expertise does not seem to be sufficient, as there is a difference between professional knowledge and professional action.
Professional action is characterized by joint and reciprocal interaction of the specialists and teachers with the child and the parents. Specialists and teachers are not only arrangers of the spatial environment and interested and reliable relationship and interaction partners of the child, but also observers who can give individual impulses for the support and promotion and development of the child's self-education potential through situational adaptability (Ministry of Family, Children, Youth Culture and Sport of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia & Ministry of School and Further Education of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia, 2016, p. 64).
This provides a concrete guideline for action, according to which the pedagogical staff should be guided. However, the basis for a person's actions and behavior is one's own personality. This is characterized by opinions, attitudes and attitudes. Therefore, a professional attitude also plays a very important role, as professional action is based on this. A professional attitude towards social inequalities and heterogeneity means dealing positively with and accepting differences of any kind, as well as having the will and ability to reflect on oneself continuously (Ministry of Family, Children, Youth Culture and Sport of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia & Ministry of School and Further Education of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia, 2016, p. 64).
In summary, a professional approach to social inequality structures in a day care centre means being able to apply specific expertise due to an open, respectful and accepting attitude towards differences.
1.3 The implementation of professionalism in practice
The aforementioned aspects, which are necessary not to support inequalities in everyday life, but to accompany all children to the same extent, are now theoretically summarized. At this point, it is asked whether these can also be implemented in practice. In order to clarify the question, the pedagogical staff must be examined in more detail. Is it really able to implement the requirements and requirements of the Ministry of Family, Children, Youth, Culture and Sport in their everyday behaviour? This claim presupposes that one's own actions are freed from all subjective influences such as prejudices, opinions, evaluations, norms and attitudes as well as dislikes and sympathies. In summary, this means that you have to reflect on your attitude. For a better understanding, the term setting is explained below.
1.3.1 Settings
Generally, every person has a certain aversion or sympathy towards an object, an overarching topic or a person. You have a certain attitude towards this. According to Haddock and Maio (2010), an attitude is an overall assessment of an object based on cognitive, affective and behavioral information. (Haddock & Maio, 2014, p. 199).
Included in this definition is the idea that expressing an attitude involves an evaluative judgment about a stimulus object. In other words, an attitude expression involves making a decision about whether or not you like something, whether you agree with or reject something, or whether you have affection or dislike for a particular fact, object, or person. (Haddock & Maio, 2014, p. 199).
In principle, a setting always evaluates something. This is an important finding for the present work. There is reason to believe that adapting or suppressing an attitude in order to contribute to equal opportunities could be difficult, as the behaviour of the pedagogical staff with regard to the inequality structures within the children's group should be free of evaluations. A distinction is made both in terms of the valence of the settings and the strength. Valence indicates whether attitudes are positive, negative or neutral. The strength of a setting is characterized by whether, for example, one has a strong or only a slight aversion to a stimulus object (Haddock & Maio, 2014, p. 199). According to Zanna and Rempel (1988), an attitude is based on three components: The cognitive attitude component, the affective behavioral component, and the behavioral component of the attitude (Haddock & Maio, 2014, p. 199). This is represented in the so-called multicomponent model of the setting (Zanna & Rempel, 1988) (Haddock & Maio, 2014, p. 199). The cognitive attitude component involves certain beliefs, thoughts, or traits that are and will be associated with an attitude object. This means that stereotypes are sometimes attributed to a stimulus object at the cognitive level, which is why attitudes can be prejudiced. (Haddock & Maio, 2014, p. 200). This fact is also important for the present work. In this case, if the pedagogical staff attributes certain stereotypes to children and their families, their attitude may be characterized by prejudices. These prejudices could have a negative impact on the behaviour of professionals towards children. The affective attitude level includes the feelings and emotions one feels about the stimulus object (Haddock & Maio, 2014, p. 201). Here it can be said that these can be stored differently from person to person. the (previous) behaviors associated with a settings object are summarized under the behavior component of the settings (Haddock & Maio, 2014, p. 204). According to Haddock and Maio (2014), attitudes arise due to a person's desire to satisfy his psychological needs. Therefore, settings are attributed certain functions for satisfying needs. Attitudes help to assess objects (assessment function), to minimize rewards at maxi and cost (utilitarian function), to identify sympathetically with others (social adaptation function), to protect one's own self-esteem (ego defense function) and to express values (value expression function) (Haddock & Maio, 2014, p. 208).
In summary, it can be said that attitudes are formed due to various psychological needs of man. A distinction is made between the cognitive attitude component, the affective attitude component and the behavioral component of the attitude. It is significant that an attitude towards an object or a person is always judgmental. So it seems that the pedagogical staff in a daycare center has certain attitudes towards certain children and parents, which could be based on feelings, beliefs, previous patterns of behavior and sometimes even on prejudices. In order to be able to implement professionalism in practice, the pedagogical staff must question their own attitudes so that the sometimes negative evaluations that can result from this do not influence the behavior and thus the interaction with the children. Because if children are treated unequally on the basis of their own attitudes, discrimination mechanisms can occur that do not provide equal opportunities.
Anne Rosken (2009) has written through her book "Diversity und Profession. A biographical-narrative investigation in the context of the sociology of education" can make an important contribution to this complex of topics. The results of biographical narration analyses are intended to characterize the handling of diversity by pedagogical staff. The central question of which types of professional handling of diversity and heterogeneity can be demonstrated is investigated.N. "It is assumed that one's own experiences, origin and biography as a whole play a decisive role in the acquisition of diversity competences." (Rosken, 2009, p. 24). Through the interviews, an attempt is made to identify results and experiences that may have affected the attitude and attitude of an educator with regard to her pedagogical and professional attitude. On this basis, Rosken (2009) shows whether the skills of educators and educators are sufficient to impart competences in dealing with diversity. Based on the results, Rosken (2009) was able to show"(...) that all educators do not have a fully mature professional approach to diversity. In almost all cases, a lack of professional reflection can thus be discerned." (Rosken, 2009, p. 266). In addition, it could be shown that the subjective pedagogical concept of the educators seems to be characterized by unprocessed childhood experiences, which suggests that they increasingly act on the basis of their own biographical attitude, instead of on those of theoretical training contents. (Rosken, 2009, p. 267). A professional handling of diversity in an elementary institution can therefore be considered difficult.
The topic of equal opportunities in day-care facilities and the behaviour of pedagogical staff in dealing with heterogeneity was also examined by Beate Beyer in 2013. In her book called "Social Inequality in Kindergarten. Orientation and Action Patterns of Pedagogical Professionals", she investigates the problem of what role educators play with their own values, prejudices and sympathies, etc., in relation to the presumed creation of equal opportunities. Beyer (2013) investigates in a multi-level analysis consisting of several different methods, the following key issues: "How do kindergarten teachers deal with differences, i.e. with the perception of equality/diversity between children? Which inequality-specific dimensions play a role here? " (Beyer, 2013, p. 49). To answer these questions, an observation of everyday situations is carried out in three daycare centers each. This takes place in the form of a videography. In order to find out in what context the personal values of the pedagogical staff with regard to equal opportunities have with their everyday behavior patterns, topic-centered, qualitative interviews are also conducted with the directors of the various daycare centers. "The function of the director or the leader is regarded as important for the mediation of an institutionally anchored common practice of action. For this reason, interviews with the heads of the kindergartens were consulted" (Beyer, 2013, p. 50). On the basis of the examination data, it could be shown that "(...) a wide range of interaction patterns from social exclusion to compensatory attention of individual children" consists (Beyer, 2013, p. 233). In each of the different day-care centres, a different way of dealing with diversity could be identified. Overall, however, Beyer (2013) comes to the conclusion that both the educators and the leaders were not able to reflect on their own actions and the resulting consequences. In all institutions, children from socially disadvantaged backgrounds were treated with demarcation and sometimes with ignorance. These results are described by the author as "alamative" (Beyer, 2013, p. 235). The understanding of the pedagogical staff with regard to their own function in relation to the emergence and maintenance of social inequalities is insufficient due to a lack of reflectivity (Beyer, 2013, p. 235).
2 Central question and objective
The demand for equal opportunities already in the pre-school sector, which arose in the course of the educational reform initiated by the PISA study within Germany, has led to the fact that educational principles have been drawn up for the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, according to which kindergartens and day-care centres must be guided. Equal opportunities are generally assumed. This ignores the fact that there is hardly any empirical data and evidence regarding the implementation of equal opportunities in elementary institutions. In addition, pedagogical specialists have also hardly been the subject of research into equal opportunities in day-care centres. In view of the fact that, through its direct interaction with children, it is to be regarded as a central cause of the emergence or prevention of equal opportunities, it seems insufficient that the relationships between equal opportunities and various other determinants have largely been investigated so far. The pedagogical staff, who will also have certain attitudes towards various things, must behave professionally in order not to (unknowingly) disadvantage and discriminate against children on the basis of various demographic determinants. Professional behavior means questioning one's own attitudes and not letting them flow into one's everyday behavior. The problem of the lack of findings on the professional behaviour of the pedagogical staff and therefore the questionable establishment of equal opportunities has led to the following question:
"Do all children have equal access to opportunities or is this limited by the behaviour shaped by the evaluations of the pedagogical staff?"
This is the central core question of the present study. An answer to them is to be found through an empirically conducted data collection.
It is reasonable to assume that the behaviour of a pedagogical specialist is not free of evaluations. This is based on the assumption that every person has certain attitudes towards different people, which could be based on different attitude components. These settings are characterized by the fact that they always contain a rating. There is an assumption that it could be difficult to identify and analyse these attitudes and ultimately not to align one's own behaviour with them in order to meet the general standard of professionalism and to be able to contribute to equal opportunities. This hypothesis is based on the theses of Anne Rosken (2009) and Beate Beyer (2013). Through their investigations, both were able to show that a professional approach of the pedagogical staff with regard to diversity and heterogeneity is hardly given. The reason for this is the lack of reflexive abilities as well as acting according to one's own attitudes and attitudes due to unprocessed childhood experiences. It is therefore to be expected that the results of this survey will also indicate that it is not possible to grant all children equal access to various opportunities and thus equal opportunities in a group of day-care centres cannot realistically be implemented.
The aim of the present work is to be able to determine on the basis of the collected data whether equal opportunities, as required, have been implemented in a randomly selected, (age) heterogeneous group. It will also be discussed whether equal opportunities are a realistically implementable construct. The role of pedagogical staff will also be examined in more detail by clarifying the question of whether they have certain prejudices and attitudes and whether they influence behaviour in dealing with children. If the results of the survey indicate this, the work will address and address the need for action for pedagogical practice.
3 Methodical approach
Under this point, the choice of methods is presented below. Subsequently, the research method used and the evaluation method used will be presented shortly.
3.1 Choice of methods
Consideration was given to which method could be used to gain the greatest possible insight into the behaviour of pedagogical specialists in practice. As a result, the choice fell on a qualitative methodological procedure, since here the research object is centrally oriented. It was important that the actions of the pedagogical staff should be as unadulterated and realistic as possible in order to get an impression of how educators and educators behave in their everyday lives. The optimal investigation strategy in this case was initially a covert video recording. Because the actors do not feel observed, they act in their usual, everyday behavior patterns. In addition, a video recording provides a reliable and detailed basis for observation. In addition to the fact that a) the necessary camera equipment was missing and b) it was not possible to position several covert cameras in the group room of the selected daycare center, the research ethics aspect is also important that it is not necessarily morally justifiable to observe people in their behavior and record it without them knowing about it. In addition, collected data may only be used with the consent of the persons involved. Due to these numerous problems, the choice fell on the participatory observation. Here, too, a covert observation was favored, but this could not be implemented due to the premises within the daycare center. Therefore, it was decided to inform the pedagogical staff that this is an observational examination, but not to tell them which aspects exactly are important. This strategy should serve to distort the behaviour of the actors as little as possible. Since the observation was mainly intended to examine and analyze behavioral patterns of the pedagogical staff, the documentary method for evaluating the observed interactions was perceived as the most suitable. Through the documentary method, behavioral characteristics are examined, compared and then summarized into a superordinate behavioral habit, which is expedient for the core question of the work.
3.1.1 Participant observation
If one wants to approach the definition of the concept of the participant observation, the overarching research methods and areas must first be explained. Ethnology means German "ethnology" and deals with the research and comparison of peoples, cultures and groups. One method for generating this is ethnography as a research strategy or methodology: "More precisely, it is a social science research strategy in which more or less unknown ethnic groups, communities or other social units and their actions, forms of knowledge and material cultures are examined" (Knoblauch, 2014, p. 521). The targeted study and exploration of specific groups or cultures is also referred to as field research. In this case, pedagogical ethnography is spoken of because the investigation specifically refers to a pedagogical field of action. More precisely, this means that an ethnographer visits an unknown world and tries, among other things, to document the practices and framework conditions of the field of action in order to analyze and understand them later. (Zinnecker, 2000, pp. 383–384). He achieves this through various methods, such as interviews, audiovisual recordings, photographs and participating observations. (Knoblauch, 2014, p. 521). The origin of the participants' observation lies both in ethnology and in the movements of social reform between the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th century. (Lüders, 2008, p. 385). The method is characterized by the fact that it is "hostile to methods", i.e. that there are no exact framework conditions or a single optimal way to observe participatively. Research practice depends on many variables that affect the personality of the researcher, the nature of the field and the interaction of the researcher with the field. (Bachmann, 2009, p. 250). These elements are always so different in each research that no "universal guidelines" can be claimed for the Participant Observation method. A distinction is made between open and covert observation in the field. In an open approach, the field is informed about the project, while in the case of covert observation, one acts hidden in order not to influence the field in its actions (Bachmann, 2009, p. 252). As already mentioned, the investigation to be carried out is an open observation, since the consent to the further processing of the data had to be obtained from the actors. Nevertheless, the actors are not informed about the research interest in order to influence their behaviour as little as possible. In addition, the observer is present for the pedagogical staff throughout the observation period, but not interacting, but only observing in a distanced manner. In order to document the observed scenarios, situations, interactions, dialogues, etc., field notes are made. A distinction is made between the transcript and the transcript. When writing, notes are made, usually in the form of bullet points. The transcript follows the transcript, where the notes and bullet points are executed, detailed and supplemented (Senganata Münst, 2010, p. 382). In this case, the field notes are written down on DIN A3 index cards. The notes are then transferred to a specially created observation sheet and formulated in detail for further processing.
[...]
1 Also triggered by the current education debate is the question regarding the quality of educator training itself. Unlike other EU countries, the training of pedagogical specialists in Germany is not based on university level, which does not seem to be sufficiently preparatory in view of today's requirements.Wahle (2009, p. 78)However, this topic is not elaborated on in the work.
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