Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

How do Early Childhood Education Teachers Perceive Their Expertise? A Qualitative Study of Child Care Providers in Lapland, Finland

  • Published:
Early Childhood Education Journal Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Every preschool age child in Finland has the right to child care. Well-educated staff consists of all-round experts who work in versatile contexts with various children in a multi-professional collaboration. This staff is one of the strengths of the Finnish child care system. The aim of this article is to clarify the expertise of those early childhood education teachers, who have the competence of kindergarten teachers (n = 80) and discuss how the development of early childhood education teachers’ expertise could be supported in a small country like Finland, and more specifically, in its northernmost part, the province of Lapland. This was a qualitative study. The data consisted of the early educators’ stories of their growth toward expertise. The analysis method was content analysis. Four themes emerged from the analysis of the early educators’ growth toward expertise. According to the informants, education, work experience, personal life history and personal attitudes toward work had been the most influential variables in the process of growth toward their expertise. This research showed that the development of early childhood education teachers’ expertise necessitates new kinds of working methods and measures for educational planning. In addition, there is need for individual development plans as the work has become more and more collegial and it is necessary to expand a notion of individual expertise into the realm of collaborative and socially shared expertise.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Act on Children’s Day-care. (36/1973). Retrieved from Finlex database: http://www.finlex.fi/fi/laki/ajantasa/1973/19730036?search%5Btype%5D=pika&search%5Bpika%5D=laki%20lasten%20p%C3%A4iv%C3%A4hoidosta.

  • Social Welfare Act. (710/1982). Retrieved from Finlex database: http://www.finlex.fi/en/laki/kaannokset/1982/en19820710 Accessed 21 March 2012.

  • Act on the Qualifications of Social Service Personnel. (804/1992). Retrieved from Finlex database: http://www.finlex.fi/fi/laki/alkup/1992/19920804.

  • Bartell, C. A. (2004). Cultivating high-quality teaching through induction and mentoring. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

    Google Scholar 

  • Blay, J. A., & Ireson, J. (2009). Pedagogical beliefs, activity choice and structure, and adult–child interaction in nursery classrooms. Teaching and Teacher Education, 25(8), 1105–1116.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Buchbinder, E. (2011). Beyond checking. Experiences of the validation interview. Qualitative Social Work, 10(1), 106–122. doi:10.1177/1473325010370189.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Byington, T. A., & Tannock, M. T. (2011). Professional development needs and interests of early childhood education trainers. Early Childhood Research and Practice, 13(2). Retrieved July 24, 2012, from http://ecrp.uiuc.edu/v13n2/byington.html.

  • Children’s Day Care in the Province of Lapland [Lasten päivähoito Lapin läänissä]. (2001). Rovaniemi: Lapin lääninhallitus.

  • Collins, H. M., & Evans, R. (2002). The third wave of social studies: Studies of expertise and experience. Social Studies of Science, 32(2), 235–296.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Costigan, A. T., & Crocco, M. S. (2004). Learning to teach in an age of accountability. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.

    Google Scholar 

  • Decree on Children’s Day-care (239/1973). Retrieved from Finlex database: http://www.finlex.fi/fi/laki/ajantasa/1973/19730239?search%5Btype%5D=pika&search%5Bpika%5D=asetus%20lasten%20p%C3%A4iv%C3%A4hoidosta.

  • Eisenhart, C. (2006). The humanist scholar as public expert. Written Communication, 23(2), 150–172. doi:10.1177/074108830686392.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Elliott, E. M., Isaacs, M. L., & Chugani, C. D. (2010). Promoting self-efficacy in early career teachers: A principal’s guide for differentiated mentoring and supervision. Florida Journal of Educational Administration & Policy, 4(1), 131–146.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ewing, R., Smith, D., Anderson, R., Gibson, M., & Manuel, J. (2004). Teachers as learners. Sydney: University of Sydney. Retrieved from http://sydney.edu.au/education_social_work/professional_learning/resources/papers/AGQTP_reports/2003-04_QTAL_Teachers_%20As_Learners_Report.pdf.

  • Fiene, R. (2002). Improving child care quality through an infant caregiver mentoring project. Child & Youth Care Forum, 31(2), 75–83.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fleet, A., & Patterson, C. (2001). Professional growth reconceptualized: Early childhood staff searching for meaning. Early Childhood Research & Practice, 3(2). Retrieced from http://www.family-source.com/cache/909697/index.html. Accessed 22 March 2012.

  • Goodfellow, J., & Sumsion, J. (2003). Transformative pathways in becoming an early childhood teacher. In O. N. Saracho & B. Spodek (Eds.), Studying teachers in early childhood settings (pp. 59–77). Greenwich, CT: Information Age Publishing.

    Google Scholar 

  • Guba, E. G., & Lincoln, Y. S. (1981). Effective evaluation. Improving the usefulness of evaluation results through responsive and naturalistic approaches. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

    Google Scholar 

  • Happo, I. (2006). Varhaiskasvattajan asiantuntijuus. Asiantuntijaksi kehittyminen Lapin läänissä [Expertise of Early Childhood Educators. Growth of Expertise in Early Childhood Educators in the Province of Lapland]. (Acta Universitatis Lapponiensis 98.) Rovaniemi: University of Lapland.

  • Happo, I., & Määttä, K. (2011). Expertise of early childhood educators. International Education Studies, 4(3), 91–99. doi:10.5539/ies.v4n3p91.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Happo, I., Määttä, K., & Uusiautti, S. (2012). Experts or good educators—or both? The development of early childhood educators’ expertise in Finland. Early Child Development and Care, 182(34), 487–504. doi:10.1080/03004430.2011.646719.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Heinämäki, L. (2008). Early childhood education in Finland. Potsdam: Liberales Institut. Retrieved from http://pro-kopf.de/fileadmin/Downloads/OC_39-Heinaemaeki-ECE_in_Finland.pdf.

  • Holloway, I. (2011). Being a qualitative researcher. Qualitative Health Research, 21(7), 968–975. doi:10.1177/1049732310395607.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Inkson, K., & Amundson, N. E. (2002). Career metaphors and their application in theory and counseling practice. Journal of Employment Counseling, 39, 98–108.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jakku-Sihvonen, R., & Niemi, H. (2006). Introduction to the Finnish education system and teachers’ work. In R. Jakku-Sihvonen & H. Niemi (Eds.), Research-based teacher education in Finland (pp. 7–13). Turku: FERA.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jalongo, M. R., & Isenberg, J. P. (2011). Exploring your role: A practitioner’s introduction to early childhood education (4th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Merrill/Prentice-Hall.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kanfer, R., & Ackerman, P. L. (2005). Work competence: A person-oriented perspective. In A. J. Elliot & C. S. Dweck (Eds.), Handbook of competence and motivation (pp. 336–353). New York, London: The Guilford Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Karila, K., & Nummenmaa, A. R. (2001). Matkalla moniammatillisuuteen Kuvauskohteena päiväkoti [A the way toward multiprofessionalism: day-care centre as the target of depiction]. Helsinki: WSOY.

    Google Scholar 

  • Katz, L. K. (1977). Talks with teachers. Reflections on early childhood education. Washington, DC: National Association for the Education of Young Children.

    Google Scholar 

  • Knowles, M. S. (1975). Self-directed learning. A guide for learners and teachers. Chicago, IL: Follett.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lajoie, S. (2003). Transitions and trajectoris for studies of expertise. Education Researcher, 32(8), 21–25. doi:10.3102/0013189X032008021.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Moss, P. (2007). Bringing politics into the nursery: Early childhood education as a democratic practice. European Early Childhood Education Research Journal, 15(1), 5–20. doi:10.1080/13502930601046620.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pickard Kremenitzer, J. (2005). The emotionally intelligent early childhood educator: Self-reflective journaling. Early Childhood Education Journal, 33(1), 3–9. doi:10.1007/s10643-005-0014-6.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Puroila, A.-M. (2002). Kohtaamisia päiväkotiarjessa—kehysanalyyttinen näkökulma varhaiskasvatustyöhön [Encounters in the everyday life at day care—framework analytical viewpoint to early childhood education]. (Acta Universitatis Ouluensis E 51.) Oulu: Oulu University Press.

  • Reilly, R. C. (2008). Is expertise a necessary precondition for creativity? A case of four novice learning group facilitators. Thinking Skills and Creativity, 3, 59–76.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ryan, K., & Cooper, J. M. (2007). Those who can, teach (11th ed.). Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin.

    Google Scholar 

  • Saracho, O. N., & Spodek, B. (2003). The preparation of teachers for the profession in early childhood education. In O. N. Saracho & B. Spodek (Eds.), Studying teachers in early childhood settings (pp. 1–28). Greenwich, CT: Information Age Publishing.

    Google Scholar 

  • Selinger, E., & Crease, R. P. (Eds.). (2006). The philosophy of expertise. New York, NY: Columbia University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • STAKES (National Research and Development Centre for Welfare and Health). (2003). National curriculum guidelines on early childhood education and care in Finland. Guidelines 56. Helsinki: STAKES. Retrieved from: http://kasvunkumppanit.thl.fi/thl-client/pdfs/267671cb-0ec0-4039-b97b-7ac6ce6b9c10 (accessed 6 February 2011).

  • Statistics Finland. (2005). The official statistics Finland, (SVT): Väestörakenne [The population structure of Finland]. Helsinki: Statistics Finland. Retrieved from: http://www.stat.fi/til/vaerak/2005/vaerak_2005_2006-03-21_tie_001.html Accessed 9 March 2012.

  • Turunen, T., Määttä, K., & Uusiautti, S. (2012, in press). Forty years of Finnish pre-school education: The development of practices and curricula between 1966 and 2001. Curriculum Journal.

  • Whittemore, R., Chase, S. K., & Mandle, C. L. (2001). Validity in qualitative research. Qualitative Health Research, 11(4), 522–537. doi:104973201129119299.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wood, E., & Bennet, N. (2000). Changing theories, changing practice: Exploring early childhood teachers’ professional learning. Teaching and Teacher Education, 16(5–6), 635–647.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of Applied Sciences, Oulu, Finland

    Iiris Happo

  2. University of Lapland, P. O. Box 122, 96101, Rovaniemi, Finland

    Kaarina Määttä & Satu Uusiautti

Authors
  1. Iiris Happo
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Kaarina Määttä
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Satu Uusiautti
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Kaarina Määttä.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Happo, I., Määttä, K. & Uusiautti, S. How do Early Childhood Education Teachers Perceive Their Expertise? A Qualitative Study of Child Care Providers in Lapland, Finland. Early Childhood Educ J 41, 273–281 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10643-012-0551-8

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10643-012-0551-8

Keywords

Search

Navigation