‘Ordinary’ and ‘diverse’ families : A case study of family discourses by Finnish early childhood education and care administrators

2021

The increased family diversity is a major global trend. Although family configurations are also diverse in contemporary Finland, it has been argued that Finnish family policies and institutional understanding of family life continues to focus on the heteronormative two-parent family with a native Finnish background. To address this issue, we analysed Finnish family discourses through qualitative interviews with early childhood education and care administrators (n = 47), applying a discourse analytic framework. Our results suggest that families are discussed through two divergent but interwoven discourses, i.e. the discourse of ordinary families and that of diverse families. The former focus…

Epistemic governance in local policy debates : The case of entitlement to early childhood education and care in Finland

2019

In Finland, children below school age have enjoyed the right to attend subsidised full-time early childhood education and care (ECEC). However, the attendance rate in Finland is low in comparison to other Nordic countries. Furthermore, the entitlement was restricted to 20 h per week in 2016 unless the child’s parents work or study full-time or unless it is believed that the child will benefit from full-time ECEC. The debates concerning restrictions in ECEC entitlement in three municipal councils serve as the data for this study. By using the framework of epistemic governance, we identify three differing constructions of the ECEC’s societal functions in the municipal policy debates. The simi…

Unravelling conceptualizations of (in)equality in early childhood education and care system

2018

Early childhood education’s role in increasing equality in society has been highlighted by international organizations. However, it is unclear what is meant by the concept of equality in different situations, as the meaning fluctuates and reflects the cultural political contexts in which it is embedded. In this paper, we analyse the equality discourses of local early childhood education and care (ECEC) policymakers in Finland, drawing on different conceptualizations of equality and social justice. In doing so, we show that the way in which equality is conceptualized differs – along with the suggested remedies – depending on whether the subjects of equality are adults, children at the border…

Yksivuotiaiden lasten huoltajien subjektiivisen varhaiskasvatusoikeuden rajaamiseen liittyvät asenteet ja niitä selittävät tekijät

2018

Lapsen tuen toteutuminen yksityisissä päiväkodeissa

2018

Viisivuotiaiden maksuttoman varhaiskasvatuskokeilun arvioinnin toinen vaihe : varhaiskasvatukseen osallistuminen, kokeilun kustannukset ja järjestämi…

2020

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

2023

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…

Varhaiskasvatussuunnitelman perusteiden 2016 toimeenpanon arviointi : varhaiskasvatussuunnitelmien käyttöönotto ja sisällöt

2018