Research suggests that bullying behaviour begins at an early age (three to six years) and that preventive practices should target early educational settings. However, no previous studies focus on early educational settings (kindergartens) as an arena for bullying behaviour. The aim of this study was to find what kind of organisational and…

It is a challenge for an early education teacher to enhance the development of self-regulation of young children to become and stay motivated for tasks that elicit school-related skills that do not immediately make sense for them. Being aware of motivational orientations in young students is therefore a must. In the study, a cross-cultural…

The majority of previous research on academic skills, self-concept of ability and interest has deployed the variable-oriented approach and focused on self-concept, or ability, or interest only. This study examined the patterns and dynamics of pattern change in Finnish children's word reading skill, self-concept of ability and interest from…

This study examined the role of family-related (mother's education, depressive symptoms and child's gender) and kindergarten-related (teacher's experience, teaching practices and class size) factors in mothers' and teachers' mutual trust in Estonia and Finland. Six hundred eighteen (206 Estonian and 412 Finnish) mothers of kindergarten children…

This longitudinal study investigated the associations between the frequency of parents' reading-related activities at home and their children's reading-related skills during the transition from kindergarten to Grade 1. Longitudinal data were obtained for 1436 Finnish children (5- to 6-year-olds at baseline) and their mothers and fathers. 684 girls…

Well-educated staff consists of multidimensional experts, and this staff is one of the strengths of the Finnish day-care system. The aim of this article is to clarify the development of the expertise of those early childhood educators who have qualified as kindergarten teachers. The data consisted of the early educators' stories (n = 80) of their…

Research Findings: The aim of the study was to examine the applicability and psychometric properties of the Early Childhood Classroom Observation Measure (ECCOM; D. J. Stipek & P. Byler, 2005) outside the United States. The ECCOM was used to observe 83 kindergarten teachers (49 in Finland and 34 in Estonia) in classroom situations.…

Mutual trust between mothers and kindergarten teachers along with its relation to mother's educational level and child's gender was studied in two neighboring countries--Estonia and Finland. From Estonia 543 ratings of mothers and 232 ratings of teachers were collected, and, from Finland, 712 ratings of mothers and 712 ratings of teachers. Trust…

Altogether 1,285 Finnish children were followed up from the end of kindergarten through Grade 1. All were nonreaders at school entrance. The aim was to delineate predictors of resistance to treatment that are evidenced as little or no reading progress during Grade 1. On the basis of reading achievement in Grade 1 spring, four subgroups were…

Every preschool age child in Finland has the right to day care and the expertise of educators is multidimensional. The aim of this article is to clarify the expertise of those early childhood educators, who have the competence of kindergarten teachers (n = 80). The data consisted of the early educators' stories of their growth towards expertise.…

The purpose of this study is to examine and compare kindergarten and special kindergarten teachers' perceptions of their own competence in early childhood special education (ECSE) in Finnish day care. This comparison is based on the kindergarten teachers' and special kindergarten teachers' self-evaluation. Teachers evaluated their theoretical and…

Research Findings: This study examined the validity and reliability of the Classroom Assessment Scoring System (CLASS; R. C. Pianta, K. M. La Paro, & B. K. Hamre, 2008) in Finnish kindergartens. A pair of trained observers used the CLASS to observe 49 kindergarten teachers (47 female, 2 male) on two different days. Questionnaires measuring…