Constructing relational space in early childhood education

This paper examines early childhood education (ECE) by applying and developing relational-spatial perspectives on everyday life in educational institutions for young children. The aim is to investigate the dynamic process of construction of space and to illustrate with selected empirical episodes how this process occurs in ECE. Drawing on authors such as Soja and Bourdieu, the starting point for the analysis is that space is socially produced in everyday interactions in a process that intertwines the physical environment and concrete objects, personal interpretations of physical and cultural space, and cultural and collective views about space in ECE. We illustrate this process with ethnogr…

Important themes in research on and education of young children in day care centres: Finnish viewpoints

The aim of this article is to outline important themes, according to Finnish early childhood education researchers, that need to be addressed in researching and educating children under three years of age in Finland. To achieve this aim, the article divides into two parts. First, we present and discuss the results of a small-scale survey, conducted in Finland, on the views of key informants in the early childhood education units of Finnish universities. Second, the views presented in the survey are used as a starting point to introduce two ongoing qualitative case studies on the everyday life of toddlers in Finnish day care centres. In line with the survey findings, these case studies empha…

Correction to: The First 1000 Days of Early Childhood

Clothes

Niina Rutanen, Raija Raittila, Mari Vuorisalo write about Clothes and clothing practices in Finnish early childhood education and care. The adopted approach combines relational sociology and geography and addresses the different kinds of spaces clothing practices create in ECEC. Clothing and clothing practices play an important role in the everyday life of ECEC, but often have a different meaning to educators, to the children and to parents. Niina, Raija and Mari show how these different spaces collide with each other and create one possible story of Arctic childhood. In their understanding, space is a social construction and changes in action. They state how ‘the ‘ideal’ Nordic child is th…

Kindergarten space and autonomy in construction - Explorations during team ethnography in a Finnish kindergarten

Abstract Children’s autonomy is a cultural ideal in Finnish early childhood education and care (ECEC). In this article we examine autonomy in spatial terms. The theoretical background is developed by applying spatial sociology. Our starting point is that space is relationally produced, thus, we understand space as continuously negotiated, reconstructed and reorganized phenomena. In this article, we investigate the production of space by different actors in ECEC and seek to show how autonomy is also continuously produced and re-produced in the negotiation of space. For this investigation we use data collected as part of a team ethnographic project in a Finnish kindergarten. The project inclu…

Expectations and emotions concerning infant transitions to ECEC : international dialogues with parents and teachers

Although a large body of literature recognises the impact of parent-teacher relationships on infant everyday experiences, less is known about the emotional experience and associated expectations of the adults themselves during earliest transitions. In the context of a multi-site international investigation across five countries–Brazil, Finland, Scotland, New Zealand, and the United States–the present paper examines teacher and parent interviews to reveal expectations prior to and after the transition to ECEC, highlighting the associated emotions that arise during this process. Irrespective of whether expectations are met, parents universally express insecurities and fears in relation to the…

Care, Upbringing and Teaching in ‘Horizontal’ Transitions in Toddler Day-Care Groups

This chapter focuses on the fundamental notion of early childhood education as an integrated whole, composed of care, upbringing and teaching, in the context of Finnish early childhood education. These three concepts - care, upbringing and teaching - are addressed firstly, on the conceptual level, and then empirically by illustrative examples from day-care groups for one-to-three-year-old children. Our main question focuses on how care, upbringing and teaching are implemented in small-scale ‘horizontal’ transitions children experience between events or activities during the day as part of the experience of day-care, and how these events might be evaluated from a pedagogical perspective. Emp…

Siirtymäresurssit varhaiskasvatuksen siirtymätilan suhteissa ja muutoksissa

Artikkeli tarkastelee yhden lapsen siirtymäresursseja varhaiskasvatuspolun erilaisissa siirtymissä. Etnografinen, pitkittäisasetelmaan perustuva tutkimusaineisto muodostuu yhden lapsen varhaiskasvatuspolun ensimmäisistä päivistä aina esiopetuksen alkuun. Artikkeli vastaa kysymykseen siitä, millaisia resursseja lapsi hyödyntää siirtymätilassa sekä millaisia muutoksia resurssien hyödyntämisessä tapahtuu siirtymien aikana? Siirtymiä tarkastellaan siirtymätiloina, jotka rakentuvat sekä tilanteisesti että relationaalisesti, eli suhteessa ympäristöön ja muihin toimijoihin. Lisäksi artikkelissa käytetään siirtymäresurssin käsitettä, joka viittaa tilannekohtaisiin tietoihin, taitoihin ja materiaali…

Instructional Strategies, Discipline and Children’s Participation in Educational Institutions for Children under Three-Years-Old : Cases from Brazil and Finland

In the cultural psychological and educational literature, recent studies have addressed the educational activities and settings for young children, discussing practices and conceptions in different countries. This study approaches early childhood education and care practices as local, historical and social constructions linked to global trends and commitments to children’s well-being. This paper presents qualitative case analysis on discursive practices and mediational tools used in daily activities with children under three years of age.The focus is on cultural conceptions embedded in the educational activities with cases from Brazil and Finland. The analysis builds on the major themes and…

Spatial Perspective on Everyday Transitions Within a Toddler Group Care Setting

This chapter builds on spatial approaches to study everyday life, and in particular to consider Henri Lefebvre’s (1901–1991) theory on the social production of space. Lefebvre’s ideas on the social production of space are based on a dynamic “spatial triad” of conceived (representations of space), perceived (socio-spatial practices), and lived space (representational space). The aim of this chapter is to discuss, by building on Lefebvre’s approach, the spatial dynamics involved within the small-scale (horizontal) transitions for children in toddler group care. The discussion is based on a study where one Finnish day care group for 1- to 3-year-olds was investigated by applying a spatial, rel…

Children’s transitions in early childhood education and care : various combinations of dis-/continuities

This longitudinal multiple case study explores children’s transitions within early childhood education and care (ECEC) in Finland. In ECEC children typically transition from one group or center to another. This study explores how physical, social and philosophical discontinuities and continuities constitute these transitions. Five focus children’s transitions were followed in and between separate ECEC centers. The data include interviews with parents and educators as well as observations noted. Fabian’s discontinuity division, which argues that transition consists of physical, social, and philosophical discontinuities, was used for content analysis of interviews as primary data. Interpretat…

Crianças de dois anos de idade como coconstrutoras de cultura

Comment la culture se co-construit-elle au micro-niveau des interactions quotidiennes dans un service d’accueil de la petite enfance? Quelle est cette ‘culture’ construite, qui sont les constructeurs et comment procedent-ils? L’article s’appuie sur une etude de cas portant sur les interactions entre enfants de deux ans. Pour cette etude, des enregistrements-videos ont ete effectues deux fois par mois pendant sept mois dans un service d’accueil, en Finlande. Lors de ces enregistrements, les enfants avaient des objets avec lesquels jouer. Quatre seances ont ete choisies pour l’analyse qualitative. Au cours de la premiere seance, les enfants ont produit une contre-culture aux tentatives de l’e…

Additional file 1: of Tensions and challenges concerning ethics on video research with young children - experiences from an international collaboration among seven countries

Infants consent and video capture: an Australian perspective. (MP4 39521 kb)

Additional file 2: of Tensions and challenges concerning ethics on video research with young children - experiences from an international collaboration among seven countries

Infant transition project: Pacific Islands' case. (MP4 49403 kb)

Additional file 4: of Tensions and challenges concerning ethics on video research with young children - experiences from an international collaboration among seven countries

Some implications of General Data Protection Regulation in EU: a Finnish case. (MP4 55944 kb)

Additional file 3: of Tensions and challenges concerning ethics on video research with young children - experiences from an international collaboration among seven countries

The dilemma between image use and the right to anonymity. (MP4 91937 kb)