Search results for "Profession"

2021

Children’s preference for fruit and vegetables must emerge during childhood. At children’s homes, mothers and fathers influence children’s developing food preferences with their own preferences and actions. The purpose of the study was to reveal the association parents have with their children’s fruit and vegetable preferences. The study was conducted in a sample of Finnish mothers and fathers of 3–5-year-old children. The participants were recruited, and questionnaires distributed through early childhood education and care centers in 2014 and 2015. The results showed considerable variance in the children’s preferences, and were more similar with their father’s, than their mother’s preferen…

Perspectives of early childhood teachers on parent–teacher partnerships in five European countries

2009

ABSTRACT Societal conditions impacting on parenting have radically changed during the past two decades. There is variation between and within societies depending on social, cultural, political and economic factors. Today, Early Childhood and Care (ECEC) services play an increasingly important role in supporting families with young children during birth to the age of compulsory education. Accordingly, the collaboration between families and early childhood professionals has emerged as an essential topic of educational research and professional development. The International Parent–Professional Partnerships (IPP) research study focuses on the contemporary challenges of the parent–teacher partn…

Professional Development and Impact of the Early Change Project : Reflections from the Finnish Example

2017

This chapter focuses on the reflections and feedback from the implementation of the Early Change project in Finland. More specifically, it discusses the particular way in which the project was implemented in Finland, presents some experiences of the early childhood teachers who used the observational rating scales and the way that it influenced their practices. Further, it discusses the impact the use of observational rating scales had on two levels—on the professional development of the early childhood teachers and on the educational policies implemented in the educational districts that were partners in the Early Change project. peerReviewed

Finnish model of peer-group mentoring: review of research.

2019

This article reviews research on the Finnish model of peer‐group mentoring (PGM). The theoretical foundation of the model is based on the constructivist theory of learning, the concept of autonomy in teaching profession, peer learning, and narrative identity work. The model has been disseminated nationwide in the educational sector to promote professional development of teachers and educational staff, mainly in primary and secondary education, but also in early childhood education and higher education. The thematic review is based on 46 peer‐reviewed publications about PGM in Finland in 2009–2019. Research has focused on the following main themes: (1) general aspects and characteristics of …

The play and language behavior of mothers with and without dyslexia and its association to their toddlers' language development.

2004

The play and language behavior of mothers with ( n = 49) and without ( n = 49) specific reading disabilities (RD) was investigated during play with their 14-month-old children. The contribution of maternal behavior to the language development of their children was examined. The children's receptive and expressive language skills were assessed longitudinally at 14, 18, and 30 months, using the MacArthur Communicative Development Inventories and the Reynell Developmental Language Scales. Children with and without familial risk for RD did not differ from each other in any play or language measures at these ages. No group differences were found for mothers' manifestations of nonsymbolic play a…

A Finnish viewpoint on professionalism in early childhood education

2008

ABSTRACT This article discusses professionalism in early childhood education through the analytical tool of a research‐based multi‐level perspective that sees this as a cultural, communal, organisational, and individual phenomenon. Starting from an understanding of professionalism derived from a model of professional expertise, the article discusses the Finnish day‐care context at the social and cultural level, followed by a discussion of field‐specific knowledge as a tool for building professionalism. Professionalism is further examined as it plays out in the employees’ working environment, the day‐care centre and its working culture and from the perspective of the professionals themselves…

Applying a Mixed Method Design to Evaluate Training Seminars Within an Early Childhood Education Project

2008

Abstract The body of research relating to assessment in education suggests that professional developers and seminar administrators have generally paid little attention to evaluation procedures. Scholars have also been critical of evaluations which use a single data source and have favoured the use of a multiple method design to generate a complete picture of the effectiveness of procedures under evaluation. The purpose of the current study was to evaluate two training seminars using a mixed method design. The evaluation procedure was specifically designed to utilise triangulation of sources and to follow Killion's eight-step process. The seminars were part of the ‘Early Steps’ project, a Eu…

Possibilities and challenges in sustained capacity-building in early childhood education and care (ECEC) institutions: ECEC leaders’ perspectives

2020

This paper investigates early childhood education and care (ECEC) institutions’ opportunities to build a learning organization and master future innovations by focusing on core components, implementation drivers, leadership, and collective collaborative systems. The paper is based on results from semi-structured interviews with ten ECEC leaders from three different municipalities in Norway that had taken part in the Being Together (BT) innovation five years earlier. Three areas were identified as crucial for the continuation of ECEC teachers’ capacity building: (1) a strong focus on implementation processes and sustainability; (2) transformational leadership; and (3) developing professional…

Creating teacher capacity in Early Childhood Education and Care institutions implementing an authoritative adult style

2017

The being together intervention intends to raise teacher capacity in Norwegian Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) institutions and promote social and emotional development in preschoolers by implementing an authoritative (warm and predictable) adult style in the institution. An authoritative adult balances between building up high quality interactions with children, while at the same time having a predictable structure with clear norms and social expectations in the learning environment. The purpose of this study was to investigate what helped the ECEC institutions to successfully implement the program principles and core components, and what were the challenges. The staff groups of …

Teacher development through language-related innovation in a decentralised educational system

2021

This study explores how early childhood education and basic education teachers develop and develop innovations within the decentralised educational system of Finland. The comprehensive dataset of 20 field interviews provides a range of insights into teachers’ goals, principles, inspirations and experiences when working with a variety of language-based innovations across Finland. The ecological perspective employed in the study highlights the complex relationships between the different ecosystems of education. With the particular focus on the educator-exosystem relationship, the findings indicate how Finnish teachers respond to the expectation to continuously develop and innovate as key chan…