Social class as a challenge in educating for diversity—The case of a Finnish preschool

Abstract

AbstractThis study investigates how the staff in one preschool group in Finland deals with questions of social class. Despite a lack of reference to class in policy documents, social class emerges in three ways in the discussions among the Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) professionals: regarding how they view their group of children, in relation to their own inter‐relational dynamics, and in their perception of the practice in another less privileged ECEC setting. The study suggests a need for a more nuanced discussion about social class within ECEC, bearing in mind how it affects relations and the need for consciousness about how inequalities are reproduced.