Pædagogers forståelse af omsorg: i daginstitutioners almindelige hverdag

The article is an investigation of the phenomenon of care as it manifests in the daily life within a day-care setting. The article builds on the practical knowledge of pedagogues, which originates from their daily experiences of caring for children. The methodology is research-workshops, in which pedagogues and researchers participated in producing understandings of the nature of care in a day-care context. The article finds care is always practiced as a part of established personal relations, and never given in more depersonalised or standardised ways. Also, care is sensitive to the here-and-now needs of specific child or group of children. Care is also related to being calm and having enough time to being attentive to the child, and thus the nature of care stands in contrast to having lots of activities scheduled. Care is also related to the material surroundings, and physical space may be more or less caring. Different kinds of physical space embody different care-qualities. The findings point to three different arenas, characterised by different care-qualities: Indoor space, outdoor space and out-on-a-trip space. Physical space provides atmosphere and aesthetic qualities, and different kinds of space suit the needs of different children.