Caring is sharing. How neighbourhood processes among parents can strengthen an educative civil society: A study on The Peaceable Neighbourhood 2.0

Abstract

This dissertation describes a study into The Peaceable Neighborhood 2.0, aiming to gain more insight in how parents and other adults in the neighborhood can be involved to share parenting responsibilities. This dissertation contributes to our knowledge on the educative civil society. The central question in this dissertation was; what are the necessary conditions for successful shared public parenting responsibility in the neighborhood. In summary, based on the literature search, we found five overarching potentially effective neighborhood processes; 1) The availability of resources and/or networks (social and physical) for children and parents, where they can turn to for any form of support. 2) Participation of children and their parents, whereby parents actively share their responsibility and children are heard. 3) Strong reciprocal relationships between all community members that provide them with formal and informal support. 4) Working towards common goals and sharing of educational norms and values in the neighborhood community. 5) Parental involvement with children in the community through social control, where parents act as role models and monitor children in the public domain. These neighborhood processes can serve as a starting point for further research and development of community based programs like The Peaceable Neighborhood. Based on the empirical studies, in addition to the potentially effective processes from the literature search, we found four conditions for successful shared public parenting responsibility - in The Peaceable Neighborhood - according to children, parents and neighborhood professionals; 1) meeting opportunities to get to know each other and increase public familiarity in the neighborhood 2) mutual trust among parents, children, neighborhood professionals and society as a whole 3) support and mandate from other residents for an active parenting role in the public domain 4) facilitating and supporting professionals, especially in the early phases of implementing The Peaceable Neighborhood among parents. This dissertation underscores the necessity for responsible citizens to be acknowledged and heard, wherein governments and their institutions should take citizens even more seriously, thereby working towards a restoration of trust. In the context of The Peaceable Neighborhood, I believe that this entails having the courage to depart from conventional practices and to disregard the familiar strategies proven effective within professional organizations. This can be actualized through the steadfast dedication of committed professionals also when they uphold an ideal vision of democracy, one in which parents and other residents share parenting responsibility for children to grow up happy and healthy as responsible citizens now and in the future. This dissertation demonstrates that most children, parents, and professionals are inclined to assist one another and collaboratively foster a neighborhood environment wherein children can grow up healthy and safe. Nevertheless, achieving this, necessitates a supportive milieu that transcends the immediate neighborhood.