Rationalising public support for private early childhood education and care: the case of Finland

In Finland, early childhood education and care (ECEC) is traditionally publicly provided. However, private ECEC provision has increased during the past decade, largely as a result of financial support from the public sector. Drawing on qualitative interviews with municipal decision-makers, this article identifies three frames within which publicly subsidised private ECEC provision and marketisation are rationalised: the pragmatic frame, the government frame and the choice frame. The results show that even though market logics and tendencies seem to have gained a strong foothold in local policies, there is a keen interest in universalism and maintaining public control over local ECEC provisi…

Socioeconomic and attitudinal differences between service users of private and public early childhood education and care in the Finnish context

The marketisation and privatisation of welfare services such as early childhood education and care (ECEC) have been a global trend in recent decades. Earlier research suggests that market-based ECEC provision often leads to inequalities and stratification of service users. In Finland, as in other Nordic countries where provision of ECEC has traditionally been a public responsibility, ECEC services have also been undergoing marketisation and privatisation. Until now, especially in Finland, little has been known about service users of public and private ECEC or parental decisions between public and private ECEC. This study addresses that gap by showing that the clientele of private and public…

”Päiväkoti kaikille” : puhetta yksityisten päiväkotien asiakaskunnan valikoitumisesta

Selectivity of clientele in Finnish private early childhood education and care

In accordance with the Nordic welfare model, the Finnish early childhood education and care (ECEC) system has traditionally been based on public provision and the idea of universalism. However, over the last twenty years the ECEC system has undergone market-oriented reforms. As a result, the share of private for-profit ECEC provision has grown significantly. By applying impression management theory, this qualitative research examines how representatives of private ECEC providers describe the selection and selectivity of their clientele and how they aim at managing the impression they convey through their descriptions. The study shows how three different mechanisms of selectivity are produce…

Markkinoistuvat varhaiskasvatuspalvelut

Johan on markkinat! : varhaiskasvatuspalveluiden järjestäminen muutoksessa

Yksityisesti tuotetun varhaiskasvatuksen osuus kasvaa. Kasvu on ollut julkisesti tuettua eli poliittisen prosessin tulos. Yksityisen toiminnan, perheiden valinnan mahdollisuuksien ja palveluntuottajien kilpailun lisääntymissä on kyse varhaiskasvatuksen markkinoistumisesta. Viime kädessä varhaiskasvatuksesta päätetään kuntatasolla. Tutkimuksessamme olemme tarkastelleet, millaisia merkityksiä kuntapäättäjät markkinoistumiskehitykseen liittävät. nonPeerReviewed