On this occasion it was a one-to-one session with Eleni, my BCU supervisor as she was not able to attend the previous Supervision. It was a rich dialogue with many questions raised to follow up on.
A comment in passing led to a very interesting conversation. I mentioned that although I have not transcribed the data from Finland yet, the parents there are more concerned about their children being ‘trygga’ which translated means ‘secure’, as in an overall sense of well-being as opposed to secure in a physical sense. Whereas, in England, a young Mum was not alone in wanting her two-year-old to be prepared for school and saying she would like to see more structured whole group interaction, for her son the be ‘school ready’ when the time comes. A father in Finland quite categorically said he was not at all interested in any ‘pedagogical stuff’, he just wants his son to be ‘trygg’, as they (both parents) have to work and the son has to be cared for while they work.
Elenin thought this was really interesting, wondering why this huge difference in perspectives? I said that after WW II, there was a deep questioning of what future the country wanted for its children and the nation as a whole. I also mentioned there is a love of childhood in Finland, as a unique time in an individual’s life, but this still does not explain why? Eleni wondered if it has to do with for instance:
Socioeconomic factors
Personal experiences
Media influences
Educational background of parents
I wondered if it had to do with where a country is in relation to Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, and if a country is socio-economically in a better place, the perspective on childhood shifts?
I decided to follow up on this the next day, and came across Martin Schröder’s (2013) notion that a nation’s religious past is a contributing factor to the evolution of its welfare system and way of life, or values in that country. In short, Schröder argues that Scandinavian Lutheranism is at the heart of Nordic Social Democracy and underlying core values in those societies. According to Schröder countries more influenced by conservativism, such as Germany, Italy and Spain, that share an adherence to Catholicism, promote a more conservative welfare state and view of the world. Anglophone countries, according to Schröder, on the other hand tend to have been influenced by Calvinism or other closely related forms of Protestantism, valuing and promoting individualism that can be seen to relate to a more liberal [and competitive] view of the world.
Despite only having very briefly explored this idea, there is something in Schröder’s theory that spontaneously resonated with me, having lived in five different European countries, and recognising what he is suggesting. The core values of Lutheranism are palpable in Finnish society and how people relate to each other. [Neo-]liberalism with its competitive streak is on the other hand palpable in England, I would say. In other words, a country’s core values are reflected in its policies and guidelines, that in turn impact how people, parents, are steered to view childhood. Just a few thoughts, I will park for now …
