Confirming and resisting an underdog position – leisure-time teachers dealing with a new practice

Abstract

The article focuses on how leisure-time teachers (LtT) in Sweden both confirm and resist the array of new demands related to leisure-time centres (LtC). The data consist of interviews with six LtTs. The results are interpreted as representing different parts of the LtT's professionalism and show that the LtTs through their tellings constructs certain children, problems and solutions as a response to the demands in their work, thereby both confirming and resisting an underdog position. By constructing a manageable child they legitimise their professionalism and vice versa: constructing a child they are not capable of handling underlines their work conditions and offers a response to the discussion of insufficient quality, thereby confirming the low status of LtTs.