Maarit Alasuutari

The Making of the Ordinary Child in Preschool

The article examines parent–teacher conferences in Finnish and Swedish preschools. Previous research has shown that the conferences are mostly about the evaluation of the child. Based on qualitative data, the article studies how this evaluation is done. It asks how the institutional order regarding children is constructed in parent–teacher conferences and what the ordinary child is like that this order presumes. The theoretical framework is adopted from social constructionist research on childhood and institutions. The analysis applies a discourse analytic framework. The results suggest that being and becoming social is the key expectation for a child in Finnish and Swedish preschools; formal education and learning are not often mentioned. In addition, the results show that generational and gendered assumptions are important elements in the institutional order of preschool.

Assessment and documentation in early childhood education

Documentation in early childhood education is typically seen as a means to enhance the quality of care and education, and as a way to take account of the child’s view.Assessment and Documentation in Early Childhood Education considers the increasing trend towards systematic child documentation especially in early childhood institutions. The authors present ways in which assessment and evaluation is done sometimes explicitly but more often implicitly in these practices, and explore its means, aims, forms, and functions. They also examine the rationalities of child documentation from the perspective of professional practice and professionalism and suggest that documentation and assessment practices can weaken and constrain but also empower and strengthen teachers, children and parents. Topics explored include:Different forms of documentation and assessmentDocumentation and listening to the childrenDilemmas of assessment and documentationParticipation by childrenInvolvement of parentsThis timely bookwill be appealing for those studying in the field of early childhood education, teacher education, special education, general education, social work, counselling, psychology, sociology, childhood studies, and family studies.

The domestication of early childhood education plans in Finland

The article analyses how the implementation of early childhood education plans in Finland is linked with international trends and what happens in the process through which such worldwide ideals are domesticated to the local conditions. Through a detailed analysis of different stages of the process, the article sheds light on the question of how, to what extent and at which levels the national path of change is converged with those in other countries. The results show that the early childhood education system has not fully met its declared objectives. However, it is emphasized that declared objectives of a reform must not be confused with the ‘original’, perhaps worldwide model, which is then contrasted with actual practices. Similarly, the actual form that the new practices assume must not be mistaken for the effect of a genuinely national tradition. Rather, the ideals and objectives stated in the documents related to the reform in question must be seen as part of the political process and of a global form of governance that the reformed policy represents. Not only the model being domesticated but the rationalities, counterarguments and forms of resistance which different parties invoke to defend their interests are often transnational.

Voicing the child? A case study in Finnish early childhood education

Contemporary Nordic early childhood education and care takes as its starting point the individual and ‘competent’ child and emphasizes the aim to take account of children’s views. It is also common in educational settings that the child’s views are documented and thus transformed into contexts in which they are discussed between the adults. In light of a case study of 22 parent–teacher meetings in Finnish early childhood education and care the article discusses the position of the child’s voice in this context. The theoretical framework is based on a relational view of childhood and the child’s voice, on theories of face-to-face and institutional interaction and on discursive psychology. The article highlights the multifaceted relational processes in which the child’s participation is embedded in adult-led institutional practices.

“My Dad Got Depression, or Something”: How Do Children Talk about Parental Mental Disorder?

The research about children affected by parents with mental disorders has suggested that information and an understanding of the parents problems are important factors in the childs resilience. Therefore, increasing the childs understanding has been defined as a key element in many preventive interventions. However, there is little research about childrens conceptions of parental mental disorder. The article examines the discourses (vocabularies) that children use as their resources when talking about a parents mental disorder during a qualitative research interview. It pays special attention to the interviewer-child interaction. The data come from interviews with ten Finnish children. The results show that the children employ three vocabularies in the interview: the professional, the empirical, and the vocabulary of concern. The results illustrate the importance of looking at the nuances of adult-child interaction. They also question the self-evident use of a medical discourse in giving information about the parental problems.

Unravelling conceptualizations of (in)equality in early childhood education and care system

ABSTRACT Early childhood education’s role in increasing equality in society has been highlighted by international organizations. However, it is unclear what is meant by the concept of equality in different situations, as the meaning fluctuates and reflects the cultural political contexts in which it is embedded. In this paper, we analyse the equality discourses of local early childhood education and care (ECEC) policymakers in Finland, drawing on different conceptualizations of equality and social justice. In doing so, we show that the way in which equality is conceptualized differs – along with the suggested remedies – depending on whether the subjects of equality are adults, children at the border of an institutional setting, or children within the ECEC institution.

Positioning children with special educational needs in early childhood education and care documents

Abstract The article critically discusses the practice of describing children’s special educational needs (SEN) in early childhood education and care (ECEC) pedagogical documents. Documentation is understood as a form of governance. In current practice, documentation is extensively used in educational institutions. Even when the focus of documentation should be pedagogical, the descriptions of children’s SEN commonly describe a child’s individual deficits as a source of educational problems. In this study, we used discourse analysis to investigate how professionals position children and construct their SEN in pedagogical documents. The research data consisted of 143 documents on 29 Finnish children. Three ways of positioning children with SEN were identified in the documents: as a problematic child through definitive descriptions, as a multifaceted child through contextual descriptions, and as a learning child through dynamic descriptions. The results highlight the importance of a pedagogical focus and dynamic conceptualisation of SEN in ECEC documentation.

Binds of Professionalism: Attachment in Australian and Finnish Early Years Policy

Attachment theory is often referenced in psychology, social work and early childhood care and education, and is ubiquitous in popular publications directed to parents, carers and educators of young children. It is considered as a ‘grand theory’ that explains “the growth of social relationships from infants’ experiences with their caregivers and the consequent social preference called attachment” (Mercer, 2011, p. 26). In this chapter, we understand attachment theory as a discourse and as part of the ‘psy-complex’, “the sprawling speculative and regulative network of theories and practices that constitute psychology” (Parker, 2002, p. 199). We focus on the operation of ‘attachment discourses’ in early childhood policy and practice prescriptions in two contexts: Finland and Australia. We show how attachment theory is being translated (or undergoes change) as it travels across boundaries and fits within policies, existing practices and economic and ideological agendas of governments in its different contexts. As it is being translated to fit the particular policy problem, attachment produces various understandings of ‘the child’, ‘the caregiver’ and their relations. We outline in a comparative manner ‘the child’, ‘the caregiver’ and the relations, feelings, duties and responsibilities these discourses produce and with what effects. Our conclusions meet with others who discussed the economic and ideological biases of psychological theories and how they enter into the material structure of major institutions – including the preschool and the family - and govern actors’ everyday experiences and actions, including what is included in professionals’ work.