2008 Volume 46 Issue 2 Pages 158-168
This study is based on my five-month observation of child care centers and kindergartens in Bologna. These places for children have special staff to support childcare called collaboratore. The observation reveals how they were involved in childcare and how they collaborated with other professional staff. They were working as a team and were very proud of their jobs. Child care requires collaboration with many people from various professions. Each professional should make not a vertical relationship with children but a cooperative relationship with other professionals placing emphasis on children. In this way, the idea of each professional would contribute to better care for children. To achieve such a relationship, it is essential to provide an opportunity to facilitate communication among different professions and recognize that each professional is equally responsible for and proficient in childcare.
