Steering documents 

ECEC

A renewed legislation in ECEC

The principal steering documents in ECEC are:

• Act on Early Childhood Education and Care (540/2018) 
• Government Decree on Early Childhood Education and Care (753/2018) 
• National Core Curriculum for Early Childhood Education and Care (2018) (in Finnish)

The central principles and overall objectives of early childhood education and care are outlined in the ECEC Act.

The Act defines ECEC as a planned and goal-oriented entity of education, upbringing and care, with an emphasis on pedagogy. 

The Act defines 10 central goals of early childhood education and care. A key task of the ECEC is to support the child's holistic growth, development, well-being and health. ECEC also has an important role in promoting lifelong learning as well as equity and equality. 

The law emphasises the role and participation of children and parents in the organisation and implementation of ECEC.

Local curricula based on a national core curriculum for ECEC

The national core curriculum is a norm based on which ECEC providers draw up local and unit-specific curricula and plans, as well as individual ECEC plans for each child. 

It is a legally binding document for both public and private ECEC providers. It applies to the entire stage of ECEC in both ECEC centres and family daycare premises. 

Following a legislative reform in ECEC, the Finnish National Agency for Education (FINEDU) confirmed the first binding National Core Curriculum for ECEC in 2016. 

Following the second stage of the legislative reform, the national core curriculum was revised already in 2018 but no significant changes were introduced in this update.

The stakeholders involved in the preparation of the national core curriculum represented widely the views of administration, world of research, labour market partners, ECEC personnel and other experts. The process also included an open online consultation for the public.

At the local level, ECEC and administrative personnel have the main responsibility for drafting the curricula, but also parents’, children’s and different cooperation partners’ voice should be heard in the development and evaluation of curricula. New local curricula were introduced in August 2017 and revised in 2019.

The FINEDU supports the implementation of the national core curriculum by producing support material and organising training for ECEC providers and ECEC staff.

The aim is that the local curricula for ECEC, pre-primary education and basic education constitute an integrated whole where different levels of education form a logical continuum from the children’s point of view.

Pre-primary education for six-year-olds

Pre-primary education governed by basic education legislation

The principal steering documents in pre-primary education are:

• Basic Education Act (628/1998)
• Basic Education Decree (852/1998) (in Finnish)
• The Government Decree on the General National Objectives and Distribution of Lesson Hours in Basic Education (422/2012) (in Finnish )
• National Core Curriculum for Pre-Primary Education 2014 (in Finnish)

The general objectives of pre-primary education are outlined in the legislation governing basic education. The purpose of pre-primary education is to support children’s growth into humanity and into ethically responsible membership of society and to provide them with knowledge and skills needed in life. Furthermore, the aim of pre-primary education, as part of early childhood education and care, is to improve children's capacity for learning.

Local curricula based on a national core curriculum for pre-primary education

The national core curriculum aims at equal implementation of high-quality pre-primary education in the whole country.

The National Core Curriculum for Pre-Primary Education is a national norm issued by the Finnish National Agency for Education (formerly Finnish National Board of Education). Education providers, most of whom are municipalities, prepare the local curricula in compliance with the national norm.

The current National Core Curriculum for Pre-primary Education was issued in December 2014. Local curricula based on the new core curriculum were introduced into practice in August 2016.

The core curriculum was prepared through a participatory and consultative process as part of a wider curriculum reform in general education. The core curriculum for pre-primary education was outlined in multidisciplinary working groups including e.g. researchers, teachers and representatives of municipal administration. Education providers and other key stakeholders had opportunities to provide written feedback during the process. The process also included an open online consultation for the public.

The Finnish National Agency for Education had the overall responsibility of the reform. It set up a steering group to guide the process. The steering group included the key stakeholders: ministries, Trade Union of Education and other relevant labour market partners, principals’ associations, various bodies representing minority groups, Finnish Parents' League as well as Finnish Book Publishers Association.

Education providers must ensure that pre-primary education personnel and guardians can participate in the development of local curriculum. Also children’s views must be heard and taken into account. Furthermore, the municipal officials responsible for social and welfare services are to be involved in the curriculum work. The core curriculum also underlines the importance of cooperation with ECEC and basic education personnel in the development of the local curriculum.

Areas of learning and development 

ECEC

An entity of education, instruction and care with a pedagogical emphasis

ECEC is, as defined by the law, a planned and goal-oriented entity of education, instruction and care, with an emphasis on pedagogy. The three dimensions form an integrated whole that aims to support the learning and overall well-being of the child.

The dimensions are emphasised differently according to the child’s age and the situation. Teaching and guidance are embedded in different situations and activities during the child’s day in ECEC.

Transversal competence

A central goal of the ECEC is to strengthen children’s transversal competences. Transversal competence is an entity consisting of knowledge, skills, values, attitudes and will. The development of transversal competence promotes children’s growth as individuals and as members of their community and society.

The national core curriculum for ECEC defines five interconnected competence areas:

• thinking and learning
• cultural competence, interaction and self-expression
• taking care of oneself and managing daily life
• multiliteracy and competence in ICT
• participation and involvement.

Integrative pedagogical activities

The National Core Curriculum for ECEC (2018) defines learning areas that describe the key objectives and contents of pedagogical activities.

The learning areas are grouped into five entities:

• Rich world of languages
• Diverse forms of expression
• Me and our community
• Exploring and interacting with my environment
• I grow, move and develop.

Rather than approached as separate entities, the themes of different learning areas are combined and applied according to the children’s interests and competence. Children’s interests and questions serve as a key premise for planning and implementing the activities.

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Pre-primary education for six-year-olds

General goals of pre-primary education

According to the national core curriculum for pre-primary education, the mission of pre-primary education is to promote children’s prerequisites for growth, development and learning. An essential task for pre-primary education is to guarantee equal opportunities for children to learn and start school. Pre-primary plays a key role in early identification of support needs and for provision of support.

Pre-primary offer opportunities for diverse interaction with other people. It is also important to strengthen children’s healthy self-esteem with the aid of positive learning experiences and supportive feedback. Learning by playing is essential.

Through play and activity in versatile learning environments children expand their competence in different fields of knowledge and skills according to their age and preconditions.

The task of developing transversal competence is considered in all activities. Transversal competence refers to an entity consisting of knowledge, skills, values, attitudes and will. The areas of transversal competence as defined by the national core curriculum for pre-primary education are:

• thinking and learning
• cultural competence, interaction and self-expression
• multi-literacy
• taking care of oneself and managing daily life
• competence in information and communication technology
• participation and involvement

Joint objectives for instruction and learning modules

Pre-primary education is based on integration of education. The core curriculum defines joint objectives for instruction which are grouped into five entities:

• Diverse forms of expression
• Rich world of the language
• Me and our community
• Exploring and interacting with my environment
• I grow and develop

The joint objectives are based on the goals emerging from different fields of knowledge and skills which are significant for pre-primary education, as well as on the goals set for transversal competences.  Objectives with interconnected educational tasks have been collected in each entity. The joint objectives are goals that steer the work of the teacher.

There is no time allocation for pre-primary education. The implementation of pre-primary education is based on learning modules with different scopes and implemented in different ways. Children's interests and the joint objectives for instruction form the point of departure for implementing learning modules. The objectives and contents of different entities are combined in a pedagogically appropriate way when forming learning modules for pre-primary education.

Children participate in the planning of learning modules and evaluate their implementation under the teacher's supervision. The purpose of learning modules is to offer varying and inspiring learning experiences and appropriate learning challenges for each child.

A central aim is that the curricula for ECEC, pre-primary education and basic education should form an integrated whole where different levels of education form a logical continuum from the children’s point of view.

Pedagogical approaches

ECEC

Versatile working methods

The staff are free to choose teaching methods and teaching and learning materials as long as they are in line with the principles defined in the national core curriculum. 

The objectives and contents of the learning areas and the framework for pedagogical activities as defined in the national core curriculum guide the personnel in planning and implementing versatile and integrative pedagogical activities together with the children.

The goals set for the ECEC and the age, needs, prerequisites and interests of children guide the selection working methods. The personnel guide the children to experiment with and use different working methods in groups of different sizes and independently.

The core curriculum encourages versatile and functional working methods that promote the creativity, interaction and participation of children. Children are encouraged to express themselves, ask questions, solve problems together and explore the world with all their senses and their entire bodies.

Outdoor activities should be included in every day.

Play as a source for development, learning and well-being

Play as source of development, learning and well-being is a key working method in early childhood education and care. The ECEC must provide children with opportunities for different kinds of play and games, both supervised and free.

Learning environments

Learning environments in ECEC should promote children’s healthy self-esteem, learning and social skills. They nurture children's play and their enthusiasm for exploring, experimenting and practicing things. They guide them to be physically active, express themselves through art and experience art.

Learning environments are designed to strengthen equity and gender equality. They promote children's linguistic development and make cultural diversity visible.

Learning environments and working methods are developed together with the children. Children's ideas, play and outcomes of their efforts are visible in learning environments.

Pre-primary education for six-year-olds

Teachers in Finland have extensive pedagogical autonomy in choosing the teaching methods and materials as long as they are in line with the goals defined in steering documents.

According to the national core curriculum for pre-primary education, working methods and learning environments in pre-primary education are versatile and support children’s learning and development. 

Working methods in pre-primary education are based on playful group and individual guidance stemming from each child’s level of development. The activities pay regard to children’s need to learn through imagination and play. For the children, the activities should be purposeful and challenging.

Pre-primary education is to provide a learning environment, which will guide children’s curiosity, interest and learning motivation and give them opportunities for play, other activities as well as for rest and silence. The essential factors of the learning environment include interaction between the teacher and each child and that between the children, different operating methods and learning assignments.

Children are expected to get opportunities for physical activity both indoors and outdoors every day in pre-primary education.

Assessment

ECEC

No performance requirements for children

In ECEC, there are no performance requirements for the child but the focus is on the overall well-being of the child. This is also reflected in the assessment. Evaluation focuses on pedagogical activities, not on children's learning outcomes.

Pedagogical documentation

The ECEC staff is expected to systematically and consciously observe and document the children’s development and learning and take account of their observations in planning the activities. This continuous process is called pedagogical documentation. The knowledge and skills already acquired by the children as well as their interests and needs are made visible through pedagogical documentation.

An individual ECEC plan for each child

The individual ECEC plans that must be drawn up for each child are part of the pedagogical documentation. The personnel prepare the individual plans in collaboration with parents. Also the child’s views must be heard and taken into account.

The plan takes into account the child’s knowledge and skills, interests and strengths, as well as needs for support and guidance. The objectives defined in the plan are for the pedagogical activities and support measures. They are not requirements for the child. The implementation of the plan must be evaluated, and the plan must be revised regularly.

The goals arising from the children’s individual plans are considered in the planning of activities and development of learning environments for the child group.  

Pre-primary education for six-year-olds

In pre-primary education, assessment has two tasks. It is used to plan and develop education and to support the well-being, growth and learning of each child. There are no achievement standards for children.

The teacher follows the development and learning of each child during pre-primary education.  The follow up is based on continuous observations and versatile documentation. Based on the follow-up information and assessment conclusions based on it, the teacher adapts instruction and learning environments, as well as possible support measures.

The teacher and other personnel involved in guiding the children give daily encouraging feedback on the strengths and development areas of the children. Also parents receive regular feedback on their child.

Pre-primary education promotes children’s capabilities for self-assessment, which will support the development of their self-concept and learning skills.

The teacher may formulate an individual learning plan for each child in cooperation with the child and the parents.  A child’s pre-primary education plan is a plan for the progress of a child’s growth and learning and for the support needed. It is a pedagogical document based on the curriculum. The education providers are not required to draft individual plans for each child in pre-primary education, but in practice most do. A learning plan is mandatory if the child receives intensified support.

A certificate of attendance may be awarded at the end of pre-primary education. Such a certificate may be supplemented with a description of the pre-primary education provided.  

Transition to primary school

In Finland, ECEC, pre-primary education for six-year-olds and basic education from age 7 form a continuum supporting a child’s development and learning. The national core curricula of all three phases of education emphasise the importance of continuity and smooth transitions in the child’s learning path. For example, the National Core Curriculum for Pre-Primary Education (2014) states that

 “It is important that early childhood education and care, of which preprimary education is a part, and basic education form an entity that proceeds consistently in terms of the child’s growth and learning.

The starting point for a high-quality entity is that teachers and other personnel are familiar with the different phases of the learning path, the objectives central to these phases, and their characteristics and practices.

The goal is that each child’s learning path from early childhood education and care to pre-primary education and further on to basic education is a flexible continuum founded on the needs of the child” 

Municipalities are required to establish strategies and measures to facilitate a smooth and flexible transition to school. Key principles are defined in the national core curriculum, but most decisions are made locally.

The aim is that both children and parents have an opportunity to familiarise themselves with the learning environments, activities and personnel of first grades prior to the beginning of basic education.

Typical measures include, for example, joint activities of a pre-primary group and a comprehensive school class. Children may visit the comprehensive school before the first school year starts, and meet the teacher and future class beforehand.

Schools and pre-primary settings organise information meetings for parents. Municipalities also produce welcome brochures and other information material for parents and children. 

There is also dialogue between the staff of child's pre-primary education setting and future school to facilitate the transition of the new school entrants. The municipality creates practices for transfer of information adhering to the valid provisions. Central information concerning organisation of instruction, learning support and pupil welfare is passed on to the next level to support the development and learning of the child.

In addition to the curricular alignment at national level, the municipalities must ensure cooperation between ECEC, pre-primary and basic education staff in the development of local curricula.