Parent satisfaction with the open kindergarten in Norway

Abstract

Open kindergartens are a low-threshold pedagogical service that preschool-aged children, accompanied by an adult caregiver, can attend without appointment or registration. The aims of this study were to examine users’ experiences with the open kindergarten in Norway and to identify predictors for the overall satisfaction with the service. User satisfaction surveys were conducted over a 6-8-week period between 2015 and 2018 in open kindergartens in 11 municipalities in Norway. Every adult user who visited the open kindergarten during the survey period received a survey; 292 completed it (response rate 56%). The users were very satisfied with the open kindergarten and found it beneficial for themselves and the child. Multilevel analyses identified that four out of the eight scales, namely the physical environment, the evaluation of the staff and the benefits for the child and the caregivers, were significant predictors for the overall satisfaction of the users with the open kindergarten. The results suggest that the open kindergarten is an important arena that is highly valued by its users. The service complements the other existing communal health-care services for children and their families and fills a gap that no other service covers.