Abstract:

Finland is considered to be an “academic powerhouse” when it comes to their early childhood education programs (Herman et al., 2022). Among its strengths are high qualifications for teaching staff, favorable staff-child ratios, mandatory professional development, collaboration with guardians, and an emphasis on play as an essential way of learning (Taguma et al., 2012 & Early childhood education and care in Finland, 2022). Compared to other countries, Finland exhibits “an above average expenditure on early childhood education and care as a percentage of GDP” (Finland - OECD, 2016). This above average investment allows the country to “recruit competent and qualified staff, ensure the quality of educational programmes, and promote their development” (Finland - OECD, 2016).

In June of 2023, Dr. Maryam Sharifian, an Associate Professor of Early, Elementary, and Reading Education at James Madison University (JMU), and the Finland Early Childhood Visit Committee, a team of JMU faculty, traveled to Finland to learn more about the Finnish Early Childhood Education System. During this trip, the group visited the Finnish Education Evaluation Centre (FINEEC), Day Care Center Poutapilvi, the University of Helsinki, the Playful Learning Learning Center, and Laurea Applied Sciences University.

During this trip, Dr. Sharifian began conducting a comparative study on Early Childhood Education (ECE) policies and practices in the United States and Finland. Dr. Sharifian and the Finland Early Childhood Visit Committee met with Finnish experts who presented on several topics including Finnish ECE, the national education system, the development of a national evaluation system for Finland, Finland’s national evaluation of formal ECEC training, FINEEC’s quality audits of higher education, FINEEC’s responsibilities, performance, and communication strategies with ECEC and higher education across the country, an overview of Finnish teacher training programs, and the Helsinki Education Division.

Considering the most recent global rating that refers to Finnish people as the happiest people in the world, the team observed that you don’t see Finnish residents smiling or cracking a joke or having the characteristics of “happy people,” however, their visit in different universities, schools, and early childcare centers demonstrated that people are content which brings happiness and joy of being a Finnish citizen. They learned that teachers are content in their job despite the challenges, low salary, and several difficulties within the education system around the world. They need to learn this lesson that the goal of all educators and caregivers is the well-being of the child. By focusing on this goal, they can find a common ground to be able to deal with disagreement in the most proactive way, respect each other’s expertise, and learn how to collaborate without competition.

This study breaks down the Finnish education system in different aspects of learning, training, culture, research, and practices compared to the United States education system.

Keywords:

Comparative Study, Early Childhood Education, Policy and Practices, The United States, Finland.