Celebrated as the country with the best education system globally, Finland has also gained a reputation as one of the most racist countries in Europe for black people, especially people from Sub-Saharan Africa. The best education system in the world is built on the sweat and blood of racialised people whose experiences and roles they play as…

Preschool teachers' read-aloud and writing practices were investigated using a questionnaire about how activities were planned and organized, and what their purpose was. The results indicate that early literacy practices were not planned systematically. Most of the preschool teachers (77%) reported having storybook read-alouds at least three times…

Parents` significance in early childhood education and care (ECEC) is emphasized in the research, but primarily from the perspective of ECEC professionals. Drawing on discursive institutionalism, we analysed what parents of young children in Finland constructed as essential in ECEC from the child`s point of view in their discussions concerning the…

This study examined discourses and positions produced by educators (n = 31) on the topics of teamwork and professional expertise in extended hours early childhood education and care (ECEC). Theoretically, we follow the ideas of relational expertise and common knowledge. Previous research provides that relational expertise and creating common…

This study examined the occurrence and quality of educational dialogue in the preschool classrooms of teachers with low, moderate and high stress levels. Video-recordings of 21 preschool teachers were analysed based on episodes of educational dialogue and categorised with respect to patterns of dialogic teaching and shared knowledge building. The…

Prior research has shown that touch has an important role in preschools. However, less is known about early childhood educators' views on touch in their work. Hence, we ask what different views of touch early childhood educators narrate as a part of their work. The research material consists of three multiprofessional group discussions with…

Purpose: This study examines the social organizational structure of one early childhood education (ECE) center in Finland and the relationship between this structure and the roles and the responsibilities of the members of the organization. Design/methodology/approach: The research is a qualitative case study with ethnographic features. Its…

In this study, we argue that touch is a way of producing gender in preschool and our aim is to explore different kinds of matters that intersect with gendered touch practices in this context. Our theoretical starting points draw on the performativity of gender and the discursively constructed touch practices of early childhood educators. We…

Research Findings: The present study examined children's listening comprehension during a two-semester-long dialogic reading. We explored the extent to which the development of children's listening comprehension was accounted for by initial listening comprehension and whether children's engagement and the amount and level of their verbal…

The existing literature on early childhood education (ECE) quality is predominantly from the US or other developed countries. In low-and-middle-income countries (LMICs), systematic research on ECE quality, however, is very limited. In the present study, we explore variation in structural and process indicators of ECE quality in two Eastern…

Despite the growing importance of in-service teachers' mentalization in early childhood education (ECE), studies on pre-service teachers are scarce. We embedded a newly developed version of video enhanced reflective practice (VERP) program in an online study module in a bachelor's degree program to promote Finnish ECE student teachers'…

This ethnographic study, carried out in public kindergartens in Finland, traces the enactments of the societal roles of early childhood education. It highlights how the intertwining of governing tools and discourses related to early childhood education's societal role participates in the formation of daily life in kindergarten. The concept of…

This study examined Estonian and Finnish teachers' conceptions of their own learning and of possible ways to learn. Altogether, 70 teachers participated in the study. Theoretical and methodological solutions were directed according to the phenomenographic approach. For most teachers, learning appeared to be at the surface level and focused on the…

Research Findings: This study examined whether teacher-child interaction quality varied as a function of type of activity in toddler classrooms in four European countries (Finland, Netherlands, Poland, and Portugal). It also investigated whether specific activity settings, namely levels of adult involvement, use of whole group, and children's…

This qualitative study examines the professional development of early education preservice teachers and the initiatives behind the formation of a professional identity in the early stages of their studies. Professional identity is examined through the motivational factors that guide students to a minor in early education. The theoretical framework…