Finland: Becoming and the Youngest Children at Home and in ECEC

Abstract

This chapter will focus on the youngest children and the everyday contexts and practices of their lives in Finland. The chapter explores the concept of ‘becoming’ within childhood, particularly within early childhood education and care (ECEC) in our country. For the youngest children, their homes and nuclear families have been historically and culturally constructed as the first and most important social and emotional growth environments. For families, the discourses concerning the ‘best or right place’ for their young children to be cared for and learn in are fuelled by the extensive system of financial incentives for home care (e.g. maternity, paternity and home allowances). Only about 40% of children aged between 1 and 3 attend ECEC in day-care centres or ‘family day care’ outside of the home. However, linked to the recent and strong culture of home care, many politicians and stakeholders have expressed concerns about the low attendance rates of the youngest children in ECEC. Diverse financial incentives have been proposed to increase these attendance rates. Thus, the discourses on what is ‘best for the child’ are becoming more complex, as they now include institutional ECEC options outside of domestic environments. To explore becoming in this cultural, historical and political context, the chapter will first describe the means and institutions that participate in supporting children’s becoming in Finland. Then, the chapter will provide a short description of the historical background of ECEC in a Finnish context, namely, the influence of Germany and Friedrich Frobel. Following on from this historical review, the chapter will then discuss the current status of ECEC. In recent years, early childhood education institutions and practices have undergone various structural and political changes, such as changes in legislation. Thus, the chapter will also discuss how becoming is interpreted, seen and supported in the new National Core Curriculum for Early Childhood Education and Care (2018) and in educational practices today in Finland.