Pirjo-Liisa Poikonen

Professional learning communities and teacher well‐being? A comparative analysis of primary schools in England and Finland

The article is a comparative analysis of the policy and practice of professional learning communities (PLCs) in primary schools in England and Finland. The concept of PLC has become a globally fashionable one and has been explicitly advocated in policy documents in both countries. Drawing from a database of qualitative semi‐structured interviews with primary teachers, four key themes affecting their work and well‐being are identified: the primary school community; collaborative working; continuing professional development and trust and accountability. The realities of PLCs as experienced by primary teachers in each country are contrasted. Similarities in teachers’ responses were found, especially in examples of education policy borrowing. However, the different cultural contexts in each country resulted in some fundamental differences that strongly influenced the nature of, and possibilities for, school PLCs. While ideal notions of PLCs may be difficult to realise, it is argued that it is an important concept worth developing for its potential contribution to teacher well‐being.

Mutual Trust between Kindergarten Teachers and Mothers and its Associations with Family Characteristics in Estonia and Finland

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 was assessed with shortened questionnaires based on the Trust scale. More Finnish than Estonian mothers reported a higher level of trust towards the teacher while no significant difference was found for teachers. The associations between the level of mothers’ and teachers’ trust and mother’s education were different in each country.

The child diary as a research tool

The aim of this article is to introduce the use of the child diary as a method in daily diary research. By describing the research process and detailing its structure, a child diary, a structured booklet in which childrens parents and day-care personnel (N = 54 children) reported their observations, was evaluated. The participants reported the use of the diary to be an interesting but time-consuming experience. The main ethical challenges were related to power positions, confidentiality, consequences and motivation. With respect to adults’ observations of childrens emotions, the results indicated that the child diary is valuable in providing information about individual differences and daily dynamics and that the diary reveals some of the conventions in child-related everyday interactions in home and in day-care environments. In addition to its use as a research method for capturing situation-specific information in the family and day-care contexts, the child diary also serves as a tool in collaboration between parents and day-care personnel aimed at enhancing childrens well-being.

The Concordance between Teachers’ and Parents’ Perceptions of School Transition Practices: A Solid Base for the Future

This study focuses on parents’ and teachers’ perceptions of practices aimed at easing the transition to formal schooling (e.g., familiarization with the school, discussions about the school entrants). A total of 230 preschool teachers, 131 elementary school teachers, and 2,662 mothers and fathers filled in a questionnaire containing items on how important they considered different preschool-school transition practices. The participants considered the various transition practices to be at least somewhat important. On average, familiarization with the school was considered to be most important, whereas teacher co-operation and joint writing of curricula were considered to be least important. The perceptions of the participant groups differed from each other significantly in almost all practices. We suggest that the information on school entrants should be transferred within joint meetings between transition partners and other professionals whenever possible.

Family- and classroom-related factors and mother–kindergarten teacher trust in Estonia and Finland

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 and their teachers (26 Estonian, 49 Finnish) were participated in the study. Both mothers and teachers filled in the questionnaire on trust; teachers’ teaching practices were observed with early childhood classroom observation measure. The results of multilevel modelling showed that mothers in both countries trusted more in teachers who used child-centred rather than teacher-directed practices. Teachers indicated higher trust in highly educated mothers and mothers of girls. Estonian teachers with longer work experience trusted more in mothers than less experienced teachers, and Finnish teachers trusted less in mothers reporting more depressive symptoms. The results emphasise the importance of both family-related and kindergarten-related factors in the enhancement of mutual trust.

Interprofessional Collaboration in Supporting Transition to School

This chapter presents a cyclic model of interprofessional collaboration to support children in their transition from preschool to school. The conceptual model is based on activity theory and the co ...

Rewards, changes and challenges in the role of primary headteachers/principals in England and Finland

Drawing on an analysis of education policies and qualitative research data, the impact of education reform on the roles of English primary headteachers and their Finnish counterparts is examined and compared. Global forces have resulted in similar policy trends in both countries but owing to contrasting cultural values and education traditions there are marked differences in the mechanisms for change at both national and local levels. However, irrespective of globalisation and differing national contexts, there were considerable similarities in the perspectives of headteachers and principals on the rewards and constraints of their role and the realities of leadership and management.

Teacher-Child Relationships Narrated by Parents of Children with Difficulties in Self-Regulation.

ABSTRACT This study addresses the relationships between teachers and children (four to six years old) with difficulties in self-regulation from the parents point of view. Narratives were constructed in 21 interviews with parents of children who have difficulties in self-regulation. The study focused on two questions: (i) What kinds of teacher–child relationships can be identified in the parents’ narratives? and (ii) How is the child positioned in this relational context? The teacher–child relationships found were labelled neutral, problematic and caring. Within these categories, the child was positioned in nine ways ranging from the child as troublesome to the child as unique. The study offers tools for analysing the teacher–child relationship. It helps to understand this relationship from the parental point of view, thereby contributing to the objective of supporting the development and well-being of children in the early childhood education context in cooperation with their parents.

Childhood reproduced: images of childhood represented in children's daily lives in home and day-care settings

ABSTRACT This study explores images of childhood by analysing childrens pictorial representations and accompanying captions. The focus is on how children together with adults represent childhood in the home and daycare settings in a oneweek diary study. The key analytical tool was framing, which is used to highlight what kinds of images are (re)produced and narrated. The frames that emerged were (1) portrayal of the child via cultural products and societal relations, (2) portrayal of the child via individuality, relationships and attachment, (3) the child as a symbol of capabilities, and (4) the child as a learner. While illustrating how childhood was intertwined with consumption, cultural products and various expectations, these frames also highlighted displays of individuality, in which the childs relationships clearly emerged. The results show how children can make an important contribution to research on images of childhood and also reveal some of the conventions underlying child-related everyday interactions.

Privilege or Tragedy? Educators' Accounts of Flexibly Scheduled Early Childhood Education and Care.

This article explores accounts given by Finnish educators (n = 31) on the topic of flexibly scheduled early childhood education and care (i.e. childcare provided during non-standard as well as standard hours). Previous research has shown this to be a sensitive topic because of the contradiction between what is deemed in the interests of children and the fact of providing childcare during non-standard hours. The research follows the principles of discursive psychology. Educators’ accounts were labelled as excusing, compensating, normalising and justifying. Accounts categorised as excusing and compensating shared concern over the effects of childcare during non-standard hours on children’s well-being. Similar risks were not expressed in the normalising and the justifying accounts. Accounts differed as to who was held responsible for providing this type of childcare. When the responsibility was attributed to society, the educators’ position was weaker than when they constructed themselves as active participants. Both educators and children were uniquely positioned in each type of account. As accounts have consequences for actions, it is important to make them visible both to understand and to develop practices in flexibly scheduled early childhood education and care.