Abstract
Finnish early childhood education and care (ECEC) experienced system-wide changes in legislation, curriculum, and teachers’ and centre leaders’ qualification requirements between 2013 and 2018. Through these changes, the Finnish ECEC follows the global trends shifting the focus of ECEC from care towards education. The data are leaders’ ( N = 41) written responses to three open-ended questions in a survey completed in 2018. The analytical framework draws on the models of educational change and human capital of pedagogical leadership. The framework directs focus on leaders’ understanding about and realisation of these new policies in their ECEC centres. Results indicate that leaders have the capacity to interpret and lead the curriculum process. However, to secure the coherence in and quality of ECEC, guidance that is more systematic and instruments (e.g. for development of pedagogy) that support the implementation of the curriculum and its assessment are needed.
Highlights
The growing understanding of the importance of learning and education in the early years of childhood has led to an increased need for the development of early childhood education and care (ECEC) services globally, and the field has undergone extensive change in the past decade (Gibson et al, 2020; Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development [OECD], 2019)
Our results indicate that the Finnish ECEC leaders seem to understand the meaning of the National Core Curriculum of ECEC (FNAE 2018) as a means for guiding the pedagogy and practices
This is linked to the first aspect of human capital and pedagogical leadership (Fonsen, 2014; Fonsen & Ukkola-Mikkola., 2019), which emphasises knowledge concerning the goals set for the implementation of the curriculum and the high quality of pedagogy
Summary
The growing understanding of the importance of learning and education in the early years of childhood has led to an increased need for the development of early childhood education and care (ECEC) services globally, and the field has undergone extensive change in the past decade (Gibson et al, 2020; Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development [OECD], 2019). The purpose of this article is to discuss the changing Finnish ECEC landscape from centre leaders’ perspective by using the lenses provided by the human capital of pedagogical leadership (Fonsen, 2014; Fonsen & Ukkonen-Mikkola, 2019) and educational change (Ahtiainen, 2017; see Fullan, 2015; Hargreaves & Shirley, 2012). This investigation aims at identifying aspects related to these two theory-based models in ECEC leaders’ descriptions about the leadership needed for realising the objectives of the National Core Curriculum for ECEC (Finnish National Agency for Education [FNAE], 2018) and the assessment of its implementation. To set the study to its context, we begin with an introduction of Finnish ECEC and the theoretical viewpoints employed in the data analysis
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
