Amaranta de Haan appointed as Professor by Special Appointment of Strengthening the Pedagogical Foundation

As of 1 February 2025, Amaranta de Haan has been appointed as professor by special appointment of Strengthening the pedagogical foundation. This chair is a collaboration between the Faculty of Behavioural and Social Sciences at the University of Groningen and the Netherlands Youth Institute (NJi).

The pedagogical foundation encompasses facilities and services within the environment of families. This includes provisions such as childcare, schools, playgrounds, sports clubs, and libraries, as well as meaningful social relationships between young people, parents, and other adults in their surroundings and the social network of families. Strengthening the pedagogical foundation is essential to reducing the growing reliance on youth care services. However, the significance of a strong pedagogical foundation extends beyond merely preventing problems and reducing care costs. First and foremost, it contributes to a healthy, safe, and opportunity-rich environment for all children. Strengthening the pedagogical foundation also enhances the resilience of society as a whole.

De Haan’s research focuses on promoting the resilience and well-being of parents, carers, children, and young people in diverse family structures within a superdiverse society. De Haan explains: ‘The aim of this chair is to reinforce the pedagogical foundation for the upbringing and education of children and young people. All parents and children should have equal access to services. A strong pedagogical foundation also fosters sustainable relationships within and between different groups in our society.’

In her research De Haan adopts a multi-systemic, inclusive approach. In co-creation with societal partners and families, she employs multi-method designs—including interviews, surveys, and diary studies—across various time scales, ranging from the macro level of developmental time to the micro level of moment-to-moment interactions. She investigates how parents and children experience well-being and resilience and identifies the support resources that help them cope with daily and chronic stressors.

In addition to her appointment as professor by special appointment at the University of Groningen, De Haan is an expert in parenting and child development at the Netherlands Youth Institute.

The Chair by Special Appointment in 'Strengthening the Pedagogical Foundation' has been established with funding from the Netherlands Youth Institute (NJi). NJi is a Dutch national knowledge centre that collects, enriches, interprets, and disseminates up-to-date knowledge on parenting and child development. It promotes the application of this knowledge in practice.

NJi board member Rutger Hageraats: ‘In everyday practice, all kinds of people give substance to the pedagogical basis: teachers, childcare workers, playground workers, all people involved with parents and children. We want to make this practice more visible and support it. To then offer action perspectives to everyone who plays a role in this. With this, we also want to give a realistic picture of the pedagogical basis, because there are high expectations of its contribution to solving social problems. Especially among policymakers.'