Kompletterande anknytningsperson på förskola

Children whose parents suffer from mental illness are a neglected group. The child´s need of a secure predictable grown up, is not always compatible with the parents abilities to care for the child. The objective in the thesis is to study and analyse preschool teacher´s development in relation to an in-service training for a period of three years and to study the development of the teacher´s work during these years as complementary attachment persons.

The in-service training took part in one preschool while the preschool teachers still worked with the children. The in-service training was based on three dimensions: contents, motivation and teamwork. Theories on early child development, namely the Attachment theory, Affect Theory and Stern´s theory on the Development of Self were included in the in-service training.

To capture the result of the teacher´s learning and development and the consquences for the children´s development, the teachers oral and written narratives were used. The narratives were analyzed in relation to contents of the in-service training, theories on teachers’ professional development, theories on Early Child Development and earlier research. The combination of lectures, literature studies and group work, in which the literature was discusses, was considered to be at fruitful way of learning. The following areas in the development of teachers´ roles as attachment teacher were specifically highlighted: The will to do good, From beliving to understanding, Learning through collaboration, The child´s perspective, Understanding of the whole, Educational aspects, and Self reflection.

The teachers’ development and learning in relation to the in-service training were mirrored in their work together with their attachment child. The areas that, according to the teachers, were important in the attachment children´s development were: Continuity, Care and sensitivity, Trust, Turning points, Development of relations, Play together with other children, Relations between the parents and the teachers, The ability to say no, and Separation.

The results are discussed in relation to the function of the preschool for children with special needs, teacher education and in-service training and the need to cooperate between child and adult psychiatry, social service, maternaty health, baby health care, and the preschool sector.