Search results for "ARH"
showing 10 items of 1211 documents
The Nature Tour Mobile Learning Application. Implementing the Mobile Application in Finnish Early Childhood Education Settings
2014
This paper explores the process and impact of the implementation of the Nature Tour mobile learning application in Finnish early childhood education settings. The interest is to explore whether the concept of Nature Tour mobile application meets the needs of early childhood education in field trips. The idea of the mobile application is to help recording and comparing nature observations as well as to arouse children’s interest in nature. The feasibility of the mobile application was evaluated through a theoretical framework, which includes the core aspects of mobile learning. The evaluation framework consists of two levels titled core level and medium level. Three of the core level aspects…
Documents in Interaction: A Case Study on Parent–Teacher Meetings (ECEC)
2020
Whilst the quality of early childhood education and care (ECEC) is being monitored increasingly closely, various documentation methods and practices that aim at recording and assessing children’s advancement and activities have expanded in ECEC. The research on the impact of such documentation methods on grassroots-level practices is however currently scarce. This chapter illuminates the role of a specific documentation method—that is, a child’s ECEC plan—in parent–teacher meetings in Finnish ECEC. This plan was implemented as a means to increase pedagogical quality of ECEC in Finland. The chapter considers the ECEC plan a participant during parent–teacher meetings and, by applying discursi…
Language Education Policies and Early Childhood Education
2020
This chapter discusses the importance of different types of early language education in the public system according to national policy in two geopolitical contexts: Continental Northern Europe and the UK. We define early language education policy as the language policies in early childhood education (ECE) including planning, practices, and ideologies related to the teaching and learning of languages. We present a variety of theoretical approaches and discuss their applicability to the field of early language education research. These approaches include traditional top-down policy implementation models as well as more dynamic and ecological theoretical approaches. Following that, we look at …
Toddlers' Play in Early Childhood Education Settings
2018
More and more toddlers participate in early childhood education outside home, sharing a significant part of their day with teachers and peers, often in play. Despite the knowledge that has accumulated on toddlers’ playing skills and on the psychology underlying the development of play, research on toddlers’ play from the educational and pedagogical viewpoints is limited. Whereas teachers of toddlers report high respect for play and the importance of play in toddlers’ lives, research shows that the position of play is generally weak. This chapter, drawing on existing research, reviews the development and characteristics of toddlers’ play, describes the ways in which they play, and discusses …
Management in the 24/7-society raises concerns of fairness and social responsibility
2018
Purpose Despite the pressure on work-family polices arising from the increase in nonstandard working times in various sectors, only a few studies have addressed management practices in 24/7 workplaces. This paper aims to investigate the challenges Finnish managers face in meeting the various tensions stemming from nonstandard working hours and services operating 24/7. Two typical 24/7 work contexts are focused: the hospitality and retail industries and flexibly scheduled early childhood education and care (ECEC) services. The emphasis is on management practices relating to the planning of work shifts and children’s care schedules. Design/methodology/approach Study 1 comprises focus group i…
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…
Selectivity of clientele in Finnish private early childhood education and care
2021
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…
Perspectives on Leadership in Early Childhood Education and Care Centers Through Community of Practice
2021
This article investigates early childhood education and care (ECEC) leadership through the concept of community of practice (COP). The focus is on ECEC leaders’ perceptions regarding their leadership during the educational changes taking place in the context of Finnish ECEC. The purpose is to increase understanding of how leaders see themselves in relation to the ECEC multi professional working community and practices of distributed leadership. The data are five focus group interviews of ECEC leaders analyzed with directed content analysis within the theoretical frame of domain, practice, and community forming the core of COP in Lave and Wenger. The results show how all three COP component…
Important themes in research on and education of young children in day care centres: Finnish viewpoints
2013
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…
Språkmedvetenhet i småbarnspedagogiskt arbete – Finländska daghemspedagogers reflektioner
2019
Sammandrag: Under det senaste decenniet har Finland blivit alltmer mångspråkigt. Det syns också i styrdokumenten. I denna artikel beskrivs hur pedagoger vid ett tvåspråkigt så kallat samlokaliserat daghem resonerar kring begreppet språkmedvetenhet och hur deras diskurser förhåller sig till det som skrivs om språkmedvetenhet i Grunderna för planen för småbarnspedagogik 2016 (det nationella styrdokumentet för småbarnspedagogik). Enligt resultaten är pedagogerna medvetna om deras roll som språkmedvetna vuxna och hur de kan stödja barns språkliga medvetenhet i svenska/finska medan diskurser om annan flerspråkighet ej förekommer spontant. Studien visar att det är viktigt att diskutera språkmedve…