Pre-School and School Staff Strategies

Abstract

This chapter moves even further into an examination of practices by pre-school and school staff. It examines readiness to handle possible problematic events as well as how staff cope with their own and the children’s vulnerability.¹ Within research as well as policy debates the increased intensity of teachers’ work has gained attention in recent years (see Chapter 3). One topic for debate has been the expansion of the teachers’ role, and in both England and Swales, and in Sweden, an increased professionalization of teachers has been discussed as a solution to these increasing demands (Department of Education, 2012b; Irisdotter Aldenmyr and Hartman, 2009; SOU 2007:28). This chapter draws attention to one aspect of increased demands placed on teachers that so far has gained less attention: the responsibility to tackle family law disputes and their consequences. We draw on research indicating that teachers’ everyday life at pre-school/school may be shaped by conflicting demands, for example, between organizational and professional demands and educational and social tasks, and discuss what family law disputes in cases involving domestic violence can mean for pre-school and school staff.