Language development in early childhood education and care (ECEC) has received increased policy attention in the past 20 years. Yet, few empirical studies have explored language assessment from the standpoint of ECEC teachers. Transnational organizations, such as the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), have increased their influence over national ECEC curriculums, stressing early intervention/readiness-for-school approaches to assist vulnerable groups in society. In contrast, the Nordic social pedagogy field perceives early intervention policies a threat to child-centered, playful approaches to learning. Based on interviews with 11 Danish and 11 Norwegian ECEC teachers in Copenhagen and Oslo municipalities, three main forms of ambivalence are identified: (1) ambivalence toward the 'ready-for-school' discourse, (2) ambivalence toward professional autonomy and discretion, and (3) ambivalence toward integration policy and the ideological code of 'the standard child.' The study recommends a more inclusive understanding of the implications of 'adequate language proficiency' and 'school readiness.'

This article investigates Danish and Norwegian early childhood education and care teachers’ expectations of immigrant parents’ involvement in kindergarten. The findings are interpreted in terms of the multifaceted interplay between social class relations, culture, migration and hegemonic ideals of intensive parenting and concerted cultivation. By taking the early childhood education and care teachers’ standpoint, the article contributes a renewed understanding of previous reports of barriers to immigrant parents’ involvement in their children's education. Based on early childhood education and care teachers’ accounts, I identify three key tensions: (1) conflicting perceptions of responsibility, (2) conflicting perceptions of children's roles and how to communicate with children and (3) conflicting perceptions of what kindergarten is and what constitutes valuable knowledge. The findings suggest the existence of a distinct Nordic adaptation to intensive parenting, contradicting parts of the dominant understandings of concerted cultivation found in more school-oriented curricular contexts, such as the UK and France, while still maintaining the original key characteristics of concerted cultivation.

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