Pedagogic professionalism in public management: A management perspective on the effects of generalized trust in the pedagogic institutional frame

With Danish pre-school pedagogues under pressure both professionally and politically, the man-days lost to sickness amongst them is one of the highest in the Danish labour market. Coupled with reports citing overburdening and more significantly, emotional pressure, as the defining factors for psychological work environment, Rasmus Willig argues that this could be caused by the pedagogues being unable to communicate their concerns in the workplace. This is connected to the administrational mistrust in pedagogic professionalism, in Willig’s terms disempowerment. Simultaneously, Gert and Gunnar Svendsen argues that the Danish society and its economic and social prowess, is a result of generalised trust being the foundation for our collaborative predisposition. There must therefore be reason to believe that the pedagogic professional field is also connected to this generalised trust in their professional collaborations, could bad work environment and in the end sick leave therefore be connected to this and the pedagogues current professional position? Albertslund Municipality could be the perfect place to investigate this. The municipality has one of the highest sick-leave percentages in the country, but are simultaneously also the part of the top municipalities in the country with most resources allocated to pedagogic personal; emotional pressure therefore stands out as the potential cause of this bad work environment. This thesis therefore aims to investigate: In what way does generalized trust manifest itself in the management of the pedagogic praxis in Albertslund municipality, and with what consequences?