The role and practice of interpersonal relationships in European early education settings: sites for enhancing social inclusion, personal growth and learning?1

This study sought to identify and compare the characteristics of the social pedagogic context of cognitive activities in a sample of early education settings in six European countries (England, Fin...

Parental agency and related emotions in the educational partnership

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

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…

Sivustakatsojasta tasaveroiseksi leikkikumppaniksi : toiselta kolmannelle ikävuodelle siirtymässä olevan Piian sosiaalistumisen tarkastelua tutussa leikkikontekstissa

Finnish and Greek early childhood teachers’ perspectives and practices in supporting children’s autonomy

Kindergarten teachers from different cultural backgrounds attribute various meanings to children’s autonomy. There seems to be cultural differences in early childhood education curricula with regard to how a child’s autonomy is described and how it is supported. This qualitative study asks: how do teachers narrate their perspective and pedagogical support of children’s autonomy, and what kinds of similarities and differences in the pedagogy and practices can be found in Finnish and Greek early childhood education (ECEC) contexts? The data of this qualitative study consist of a semi-structured questionnaire of 14 kindergarten teachers and observations of their pedagogical practices in the da…

Teacher–child relationships narrated by parents of children with difficulties in self-regulation

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…