Mandatory learning programme—An offer you can't refuse: Political problem representations and parents' perspectives

This article focuses on a Danish study of an early childhood intervention thattargets young minority ethnic children and their parents. The intervention,termed ‘mandatory learning programme’ is an example of current Europeanpolicies that endeavour to support young children's learning as key to enhanc-ing their future school performance and fighting inequality and marginalisa-tion. This study employs document analysis and ethnographic methods toexamine the political representations of the problems targeted by the interven-tion and to investigate how the intervention affects parents' everyday lives.The findings reveal that the parents involved in the intervention find it chal-lenging to maintain their engagement in education and work; hence conclud-ing, the intervention risks enhancing exclusion from society, despite its aim toprevent exactly that.