The Development of Early Childhood Education as an Academic Discipline in Finland

Abstract

<p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 10.0px Times;">Early Childhood Education (ECE) as an academic discipline has gained an academic legitimacy in Fin-<span style="font: 12.0px Helvetica;"> </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 10.0px Times;">land in 2005. In accordance with internationally established practice, Early Childhood Education as an academic </p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 10.0px Times;">field and a field of research has been set to cover the period from birth to eight years of age. The focus of ECE re-<span style="font: 12.0px Helvetica;"> </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 10.0px Times;">search is to analyse and define the development and upbringing of young children, including such themes as </p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 10.0px Times;">learning and teaching and the complex connection between child development to the growth environment. In re-<span style="font: 12.0px Helvetica;"> </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 10.0px Times;">cent years in Finland, the internal paradigmatic discussions within academic ECE have been both enlightened and </p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 10.0px Times;">critical. The emergence of an academic Early Childhood Education paradigm has been apparent in the discus-<span style="font: 12.0px Helvetica;"> </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 10.0px Times;">sions of early pedagogy, professional growth, leadership, management and quality and as a definer of pedagogy </p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 10.0px Times;">to support children’s learning. The challenge of academic Early Childhood Education is to introduce into the dis-<span style="font: 12.0px Helvetica;"> </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 10.0px Times;">cussion ontological and epistemological issues of early childhood and thereby activate teachers and other profes-<span style="font: 12.0px Helvetica;"> </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 10.0px Times;">sional educators and parents to consider personal and professional conceptions of the child, of learning and of the </p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 10.0px Times;">role of adults in the upbringing of young children from birth to eight years of age. </p>