Background: Although the contexts, structures and administrations of early childhood education (ECE) may differ internationally, effective pedagogical leadership remains an essential component in supporting young children's development and learning. This paper reports on a comparative study which considered ECE in two different settings, Finland…

This research explored how values are communicated in everyday life at preschool. This narrative inquiry focused on how values are conveyed through the use of a material artefact, a chart with traffic lights, as a communication and pedagogical tool. Twenty children aged 3-4 years in one Finnish preschool were involved in the initial data…

The Finnish social pedagogical curriculum for early childhood education directs early childhood teachers to use documentation to assess and develop pedagogy and practise. This empirical study examines the challenges and benefits a group of Finnish preschool teachers experienced when they learned to document their work. Although the idea of…

The main aim of this study was to identify different teaching practices and explore the types of opportunities that they provide for children's participation in four different Finnish preschool classrooms for 6-year olds during structured learning sessions. Observational data of four preschool teachers were analyzed according to the principles of…

In the light of the European Union's interest in creativity and innovation, this paper, drawing on data from the EU project Creative Little Scientists (2011-2014), explores the teaching and learning of science and creativity in Early Years education. The project's conceptual framework, developed from detailed analysis of relevant literatures,…

Finland recently adopted two national core curricula that apply to kindergartens (ages one through six). An early childhood education and care curriculum outlines expectations for children under seven (when school starts), while a preschool curriculum establishes guidelines specifically for six-year-olds. Both curricula describe broad principles,…

This qualitative case study approaches early childhood education and care practices from a socio-spatial point of view. One Finnish daycare group for one- to three-year-olds participated in the study. The ethnographic observations from the practices are analyzed together with the ECE practitioners' audio-recorded team meetings and video-elicited…

This study was conducted during the academic year 2002-2003 in a municipality in Eastern Finland. It focuses on pre-school education assessing its quality factors from the parents', teachers' and children's points of view. Theoretically, the study focuses on analyses of the purposes of the national core curriculum and pedagogical issues that are…