Integration of Education and Care in ECEC
Integration at the System Level/ Finland as Example
OECD Early Childhood Education
and Care (ECEC) Network
7 December 2009
Tarja Kahiluoto
Ministerial Adviser
Ministry of Social Affairs and Health
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2.Child care and early education alternatives
After Parental Leave
Parents choose
Care leave &
home care allowance
Private care
allowance
Pre-school for
6-year-old children
Municipal
day care
Morning and
afternoon activities
for school children
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3. Aspects of Integration in Finland
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Policy Goals
Administration
Legal Framework
Delivery of services; access, age 0-6, forms of
services, ratios, qualifications, fees
 Curriculum
 Funding
– integration in all aspects
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4. Brief History of ECEC in Finland
 Kindergartens already from 1860´s; early education at focus
 Also creches from 1860; care at focus; for low income
families/single mothers who had to work
 EDUCARE ideology; socio-pedagogical kindergartens with
Fröbel´s methods of upbringing from 1880´s
 At the system level the Day Care Act from 1973 integrated the
different forms of kindergarten and creches as day care
 Day care could be organised in day care centres or as family
day care
 The Day Care Act obligated the municipalities to provide day
care in accordance with local needs.
 Early education and care for all in need
 Women´s participation in the labour market as main force
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5. Focal points in the development
 1973 the Day Care Act
 1990 the right for day care for all children under 3
 1996 the right for all children under school age
– universal services
 2000 Pre-School reform –
– pre-school education free off charge for 6-year-old children
– From 2001 August every municipality had to offer pre-school
education for 6-year-old children, 700 hours/year
 2004 Morning and afternoon activities for school
children
– targeted to children at 1-2 grades and all children with special needs
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6. Policy goals of ECEC services
 Social policy
– equal opportunities for all children
– equal opportunities for women and men
– early prevention
 Employment policy
– both parents work, most full-time; need for good-quality
services
 Educational policy
– early education of all children
All these tasks are present and relevant;
during years the stress has differed between these
policy goals
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7. Goal of ECEC in Finland
 An integrated system: care + education
• To provide day care
• To offer goal-oriented
early childhood education
for children
• 0 – 6- year- old - children
• Photo Päivi Lindberg
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8. ECEC Administration and Steering
Parliament
Council of State
Ministry of Social Affairs and Health
National Institute for
Health and Welfare
Ministry of Education
National Board of Education
National Curriculum Guidelines on ECEC
Core Curriculum for
Pre-School Education
Principles in Pupils´
Morning and Afternoon
Activities
State Provincial Offices
Municipality
Board on Social Affaires
Board on Education Affaires
etc.
Services Day Care, Pre-School, School, Open ECEC Services etc.
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9. Decentralised style of regulation
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Reforming the steering policy in the early 1990s has decreased
Government steering by norms and increased the autonomy of the
municipalities
Change from steering by norms to steering by information
Municipalities are responsible for the implementation of the
services in their own localities
332 municipalities in continental Finland in 2009
Child day care is however, steered by a number of acts and
decrees, eg.
- Access to day care is an universal right; regulations on
educational goals, staff-child ratio, staff qualifications and client
fees in day care,
Also pre-school education is regulated
- Access to pre-school education for 6-year-old children is a right;
regulations on staff qualification, recommendation on maximum
group size, no client fees
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10. Curriculum Process
 First national steering document for ECEC from 1980 –
educational goals added to the Day Care Act
 Planning documents for early education and pre-school
education from the 1990´s
 Big curriculum reform started as a result of the Pre-School
reform
• National Core Curriculum for Pre-school Education 2000
• Pressure to develop and define the pedagogy of younger
children
• Government Resolution Concerning the National Policy
Definition on Early Childhood Education and Care 2002
• National Curriculum Guidelines on ECEC in Finland 2003,
revised 2005
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11. National Curriculum Guidelines on
ECEC in Finland

Based on National Policy Definitions, 2002 : ’A national
plan is needed for steering the content and quality of
ECEC’
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Made by National Research and Development Centre for
Welfare and Health in an open dialogue
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Introduced 2003, reviewed 2005
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Framework curriculum
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Lays down the objectives and principles for ECEC
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Aims to promote the provision of ECEC on equal terms
throughout the country
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A recommendation for municipalities
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Provides the basis for
- municipal and unit based curriculum and individual plans
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12. National Curriculum Guidelines on ECEC
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Well-being of the child at focus
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Pedagogy: care, education and teaching integrated as a whole
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What is meaningful and characteristic for children
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The team of educators – multi-professional communities
•
Process aims: Goals to the work of educators and the
environment
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Content orientations - no performance requirements for
children
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ECEC partnership: participation and empowerment of families
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Inclusive perspective to special needs
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Appreciation of different language and cultural backgrounds
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Continuity between ECEC and school
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13. National Core Curriculum for Pre-school Education
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to improve children's learning conditions
to smooth out individual differences in children's
readiness to start school
To learn through play
Child-centered approach: guiding education
Core themes: language and interaction,
mathematics, ethics and philosophy, environmental
and natural studies, health, physical and motor
development, art and culture
Socio-constructivist learning conception – the
active role of the child and child participation is
important
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14. Funding ECEC services, 2008
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State subsidies for day care services, about 33 % of costs
State subsidy for pre-school education 42 % of costs
Local tax revenues and
Client fees, about 14 % of day care costs
One day care place/ child/ year = about 10 000 €
Pre-school education / child / year about 5 200 €
Total expenditure for day care for 0-6-year-old children and preschool education for 6-year-old children is about 1,1 % of GDP
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15. Staff Qualifications in Day care Centres

At least a vocational qualification in the field of social welfare
and health care is required
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One in three of the staff must
have a higher education level degree
(Bachelor of Education,
Master of Education or
Bachelor of Social Services)
Photo Päivi Lindberg
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16. Staff Qualifications in Family Day care
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The family child minder is required to have a suitable education
–
Qualification for Family Child Minders, from 2000
–
This competence based vocational qualification is
recommended
Exception: in group family day care with 3 child minders one
minder shall have a suitable vocational qualification.
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17. Staff Qualifications in Pre-School
 Kindergarten teachers with university
qualifications (lower university dergrees, bachelor of
Education,
 Pre-primary school teachers with a higher
university degree, about 5 years,
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18. Adult-child ratios
Day care centres
• one to seven for children 3-6 years (full-time)
• one to thirteen for children 3-6 years (part-time)
• one to four for children under 3 years (full/part time)
Family day care
•one to four, including minders own children
•one part time pre-school or school-aged child
•In pre-school education maximum group-size 20
recommendation
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19. Client Fees in Day Care
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Fees are based on the size and income of the family
Maximum fee 233 €/ child/month
Maximum fee for the second child 210 €/month
For each additional child 46,6 €/month
Free off charge for low income families
Client fees cover about 14 % of day care costs
All necessary meals are included
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Children in Municipal and Private Day Care, 2008, % of children
Municipal Day Care
Private Day Care
Total
Age
under 1
1
2
3
4
5
6
Total
1,1
28,7
47,9
62,4
67,4
71,2
65,0
48,8
0,2
2,9
4,3
6,0
6,4
6,2
4,3
4,3
1,2
31,6
52,2
68,4
73,8
77,4
69,4
53,1
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Care arrangements of children, 2008
Children under 7
Other
10,4 %
Parenthood
allowance
12,6 %
Municipal
family daycare
12,4 %
Child
home
care
allowance
23,9%
Municipal
daycare centre
36,4 %
Private daycare
allowance
4,3 %
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Care arrangements of children, 2008
Children under 3
Municipal
family daycare
10,9 %
Other
4,1 %
Parenthood
allowance
29,0 %
Municipal
daycare centre
15,0 %
Private
daycare
allowance
2,5 %
Child home care
allowance
38,6 %
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Care arrangements of children, 2008
Children under 3-6
Other
15,2 %
Child home care
allowance
12,6 %
Private daycare
allowance
5,7 %
Municipal
family daycare
13,5 %
Municipal
daycare centre
53,0 %
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Trends in children´s day care places 1970 2008
250 000
Number of children
200 000
150 000
100 000
50 000
Day care centre
2008
2006
2004
2002
2000
1998
1996
1994
1992
1990
1988
1986
1984
1982
1980
1978
1976
1974
1972
1970
0
Family day care
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