0000000000791688
AUTHOR
Pirjo-liisa Poikonen
showing 18 related works from this author
Rewards, changes and challenges in the role of primary headteachers/principals in England and Finland
2012
Drawing on an analysis of education policies and qualitative research data, the impact of education reform on the roles of English primary headteachers and their Finnish counterparts is examined and compared. Global forces have resulted in similar policy trends in both countries but owing to contrasting cultural values and education traditions there are marked differences in the mechanisms for change at both national and local levels. However, irrespective of globalisation and differing national contexts, there were considerable similarities in the perspectives of headteachers and principals on the rewards and constraints of their role and the realities of leadership and management.
The Concordance between Teachers’ and Parents’ Perceptions of School Transition Practices: A Solid Base for the Future
2015
This study focuses on parents’ and teachers’ perceptions of practices aimed at easing the transition to formal schooling (e.g., familiarization with the school, discussions about the school entrants). A total of 230 preschool teachers, 131 elementary school teachers, and 2,662 mothers and fathers filled in a questionnaire containing items on how important they considered different preschool-school transition practices. The participants considered the various transition practices to be at least somewhat important. On average, familiarization with the school was considered to be most important, whereas teacher co-operation and joint writing of curricula were considered to be least important. …
A Descriptive Case Analysis of Instructional Teaching Practices in Finnish Preschool Classrooms
2013
This study examined the diversity of teaching practices to illuminate the qualitative variety of instructional teaching practices among preschool teachers. Further, teachers' self-rated educational goals were explored to complement the multifaceted nature of preschool teachers' instructional teaching practices. The study was carried out as a case study. The cases were used to describe the qualitative variety of Finnish preschool teachers' instructional practices in authentic classroom situations among groups of 6-year-old children. The authors' previous study revealed four distinct latent profiles of teaching practices in preschool classrooms based on 49 observed preschool teachers, using t…
Transition to formal schooling: Do transition practices matter for academic performance?
2011
Abstract This study examined whether the transition practices implemented in preschool–elementary school pairs contribute to children's academic development during the first year of elementary school. Participants were 398 children who moved from 36 preschools to 22 elementary schools in two Finnish towns. Children were tested in respect to their reading, writing, and math skills in the preschool spring and in the grade 1 spring. The most common practices reported by preschool teachers were discussions about the school entrants and familiarizing preschool children with the school environment and the new teacher. Multilevel latent growth modeling showed that the more the preschool teachers a…
Privilege or tragedy? : Educators’ accounts of flexibly scheduled early childhood education and care
2017
This article explores accounts given by Finnish educators ( n = 31) on the topic of flexibly scheduled early childhood education and care (i.e. childcare provided during non-standard as well as standard hours). Previous research has shown this to be a sensitive topic because of the contradiction between what is deemed in the interests of children and the fact of providing childcare during non-standard hours. The research follows the principles of discursive psychology. Educators’ accounts were labelled as excusing, compensating, normalising and justifying. Accounts categorised as excusing and compensating shared concern over the effects of childcare during non-standard hours on children’s w…
Childhood reproduced: images of childhood represented in children's daily lives in home and day-care settings
2016
ABSTRACTThis study explores images of childhood by analysing children's pictorial representations and accompanying captions. The focus is on how children together with adults represent childhood in the home and daycare settings in a oneweek diary study. The key analytical tool was framing, which is used to highlight what kinds of images are (re)produced and narrated. The frames that emerged were (1) portrayal of the child via cultural products and societal relations, (2) portrayal of the child via individuality, relationships and attachment, (3) the child as a symbol of capabilities, and (4) the child as a learner. While illustrating how childhood was intertwined with consumption, cultural …
Teachers' contribution to the social life in Finnish preschool classrooms during structured learning sessions
2013
This study aimed to clarify and deepen the knowledge on and understanding of the role that teachers’ practices during teacher-led learning sessions play in creating and enhancing social life in Finnish preschool classrooms. Observational data pertaining to 20 preschool teachers were analysed according to the principles of thematic analysis. Four identified themes reflected teachers’ contribution to social life in preschool classrooms in relation to their practices under different group compositions: (1) managing children’s peer-relations; (2) promoting the coherence of the group; (3) supporting individual child as a part of group; and (4) discussing friendship and respectfulness. As a concl…
The child diary as a research tool
2012
The aim of this article is to introduce the use of the child diary as a method in daily diary research. By describing the research process and detailing its structure, a child diary, a structured booklet in which children's parents and day-care personnel (N = 54 children) reported their observations, was evaluated. The participants reported the use of the diary to be an interesting but time-consuming experience. The main ethical challenges were related to power positions, confidentiality, consequences and motivation. With respect to adults’ observations of children's emotions, the results indicated that the child diary is valuable in providing information about individual differences and da…
Mothers’ trust toward teachers in relation to teaching practices
2013
Abstract This study examined the extent to which mothers’ trust toward the classroom teacher of their child in first grade is related to observed teaching practices in Finland and Estonia. Sixty-six teachers (32 in Finland, 34 in Estonia) were observed using the Early Childhood Classroom Observation Measure (ECCOM; Stipek & Byler, 2004 ). Mothers in Finland (n = 266) and in Estonia (n = 348) filled in questionnaires measuring their trust in their child's first grade teacher. The connection between mothers’ education, child gender, and classroom size in relation to mothers’ trust was also investigated. The results of multilevel modeling showed that mothers in both countries trusted more in t…
Interprofessional Collaboration in Supporting Transition to School
2012
This chapter presents a cyclic model of interprofessional collaboration to support children in their transition from preschool to school. The conceptual model is based on activity theory and the co ...
Parental agency and related emotions in the educational partnership
2017
This study investigated the understudied issue of parental agency and related emotions in the educational partnership in the context of Finnish early childhood education and care. We asked (i) what types of parental agency can be identified in the educational partnership and (ii) in what ways emotions are related to these types of agency. The narrative method was used to analyse the interview data of parents of children with difficulties in self-regulation. The findings indicate that parental agency in the educational partnership varied from proactive and confrontational to hindered. Typically, pleasant emotions were related to proactive and unpleasant emotions to confrontational parental a…
Trust in the educational partnership narrated by parents of a child with challenging behaviour
2019
This study examined trust in educational partnership in the context of early childhood education and care (ECEC) in Finland, from the viewpoint of parents of a child with challenging behaviour. Typically, such children have difficulties in regulating their behaviour and emotions. Semi-structured interviews with 23 parents were content-analysed in a narrative framework. The analysis revealed two critical elements of trust in educational partnership: (1) Child well-being in the day care centre, and (2) a supportive parent–educator relationship and collaboration. Critical factors in the first element of trust were educators’ respectful and good-quality relationships with the child and fair and…
Observed Classroom Quality Profiles of Kindergarten Classrooms in Finland
2012
Research Findings: The aim of the present study was to examine classroom quality profiles of kindergarten classrooms using a person-centered approach and to analyze these patterns in regard to teacher and classroom characteristics. Observations of the domains of Emotional Support, Classroom Organization, and Instructional Support were conducted in 49 Finnish kindergarten classrooms utilizing the Classroom Assessment Scoring System (R. C. Pianta, K. M. LaParo, & B. K. Hamre, 2008 ). In addition, questionnaire data on classroom and teacher characteristics, as well as Early Childhood Classroom Observation Measure (D. Stipek & P. Byler, 2004 ) observational ratings, were used in the analyses. L…
Professional learning communities and teacher well‐being? A comparative analysis of primary schools in England and Finland
2009
The article is a comparative analysis of the policy and practice of professional learning communities (PLCs) in primary schools in England and Finland. The concept of PLC has become a globally fashionable one and has been explicitly advocated in policy documents in both countries. Drawing from a database of qualitative semi‐structured interviews with primary teachers, four key themes affecting their work and well‐being are identified: the primary school community; collaborative working; continuing professional development and trust and accountability. The realities of PLCs as experienced by primary teachers in each country are contrasted. Similarities in teachers’ responses were found, espe…
Mutual Trust between Kindergarten Teachers and Mothers and its Associations with Family Characteristics in Estonia and Finland
2011
Mutual trust between mothers and kindergarten teachers along with its relation to mother’s educational level and child’s gender was studied in two neighboring countries—Estonia and Finland. From Estonia 543 ratings of mothers and 232 ratings of teachers were collected, and, from Finland, 712 ratings of mothers and 712 ratings of teachers. Trust was assessed with shortened questionnaires based on the Trust scale. More Finnish than Estonian mothers reported a higher level of trust towards the teacher while no significant difference was found for teachers. The associations between the level of mothers’ and teachers’ trust and mother’s education were different in each country.
Teacher–child relationships narrated by parents of children with difficulties in self-regulation
2016
This study addresses the relationships between teachers and children (four to six years old) with difficulties in self-regulation from the parent's point of view. Narratives were constructed in 21 interviews with parents of children who have difficulties in self-regulation. The study focused on two questions: (i) What kinds of teacher–child relationships can be identified in the parents’ narratives? and (ii) How is the child positioned in this relational context? The teacher–child relationships found were labelled neutral, problematic and caring. Within these categories, the child was positioned in nine ways ranging from the child as troublesome to the child as unique. The study offers tool…
Family- and classroom-related factors and mother–kindergarten teacher trust in Estonia and Finland
2014
This study examined the role of family-related (mother’s education, depressive symptoms and child’s gender) and kindergarten-related (teacher’s experience, teaching practices and class size) factors in mothers’ and teachers’ mutual trust in Estonia and Finland. Six hundred eighteen (206 Estonian and 412 Finnish) mothers of kindergarten children and their teachers (26 Estonian, 49 Finnish) were participated in the study. Both mothers and teachers filled in the questionnaire on trust; teachers’ teaching practices were observed with early childhood classroom observation measure. The results of multilevel modelling showed that mothers in both countries trusted more in teachers who used child-ce…
"Opetussuunnitelma on sitä elämää" : päiväkoti-kouluyhteisö opetussuunnitelman kehittäjänä
2003
Pirjo-Liisa Poikonen seurasi väitöstutkimuksessaan yhden päiväkoti-kouluyksikön opetussuunnitelman laadintaprosessia. Hän tutki, miten esi- ja alkuopetuksen pedagogista jatkumoa sekä yhteisöllisyyttä edistettiin yhteisen opetussuunnitelman laatimisvaiheessa. Tutkimustulokset osoittavat, että yhteisen perustan luominen kahden, kulttuuritaustoiltaan erilaisen instituution kasvatus- ja opetustyölle on vuosien keskustelujen työ.- Tutkimustulokset osoittavat, että päiväkoti-kouluyhteisön yhteisestä opetussuunnitelman kehittämisestä näyttää hyötyneen sekä lapset että aikuiset, sillä keskustelua ei käydä enää siitä "mitä päiväkodissa ja koulussa saa opettaa". Sen sijaan keskustellaan siitä, miten …