Nordic Social Pedagogical Approach to Early Years

273 Pages·3.326 MB·English

by  Charlotte Ringsmose, Grethe Kragh-Müller (eds.)

International Perspectives on
Early Childhood Education and Development 15
Charlotte Ringsmose
Grethe Kragh-Müller E ditors
Nordic Social
Pedagogical
Approach to
Early Years
International Perspectives on Early Childhood
Education and Development
Volume 15
Series Editors
Professor Marilyn Fleer, Monash University, Australia
Professor Ingrid Pramling Samuelsson, Gothenburg University, Sweden
Editorial Board
Professor Jane Bone, University of Auckland, Australia
Professor Yukiko Matsukawa, Chubu University, Japan
Professor Rebeca Mejía Arauz, ITESO, Mexico
Professor Nirmala Rao, University of Hong Kong, China
Professor Collette Tayler, University of Melbourne, Australia
Associate Professor Eva Johansson, University of Stavanger, Norway
Professor Lilian G. Katz, Ph.D. Professor Emerita of Early Childhood Education,
University of Illinois, USA
Early childhood education in many countries has been built upon a strong tradition
of a materially rich and active play-based pedagogy and environment. Yet what has
become visible within the profession, is, essentially a Western view of childhood,
preschool education and school education.
It is timely that a series of books be published which present a broader view of
early childhood education. This series seeks to provide an international perspective
on early childhood education. In particular, the books published in this series will:
(cid:129) Examine how learning is organized across a range of cultures, particularly indig-
enous communities
(cid:129) Make visible a range of ways in which early childhood pedagogy is framed and
enacted across countries, including the majority poor countries
(cid:129) Critique how particular forms of knowledge are constructed in curriculum within
and across countries
(cid:129) Explore policy imperatives which shape and have shaped how early childhood
education is enacted across countries
(cid:129) Examine how early childhood education is researched locally and globally
(cid:129) Examine the theoretical informants driving pedagogy and practice, and seek to
fi nd alternative perspectives from those that dominate many Western heritage
countries
(cid:129) Critique assessment practices and consider a broader set of ways of measuring
children’s learning
(cid:129) Examine concept formation from within the context of country-specifi c peda-
gogy and learning outcomes
The series covers theoretical works, evidence-based pedagogical research, and
international research studies. The series also covers a broad range of countries,
including majority poor countries. Classical areas of interest, such as play, the
images of childhood, and family studies, will also be examined. However, the focus
is critical and international (not Western-centric).
More information about this series at h ttp://www.springer.com/series/7601
Charlotte R ingsmose (cid:129) Grethe Kragh-Müller
Editors
Nordic Social Pedagogical
Approach to Early Years
Editors
Charlotte Ringsmose Grethe Kragh-Müller
The Danish School of Education The Danish School of Education
Aarhus University Aarhus University
Copenhagen , Denmark Copenhagen , Denmark
International Perspectives on Early Childhood Education and Development
ISBN 978-3-319-42555-9 ISBN 978-3-319-42557-3 (eBook)
DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-42557-3
Library of Congress Control Number: 2016956234
© Springer International Publishing Switzerland 2017
T his work is subject to copyright. All rights are reserved by the Publisher, whether the whole or part of
the material is concerned, specifi cally the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation,
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T he publisher, the authors and the editors are safe to assume that the advice and information in this book
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or omissions that may have been made.
Printed on acid-free paper
This Springer imprint is published by Springer Nature
The registered company is Springer International Publishing AG Switzerland
We would like to thank the following people for their assistance with reviewing the
chapters for our book:
Anne Bauer
Daniela Cecchin
Dion Sommer
Dorte Kousholt
Faye Stanley
Jane Read
Jytte Susanne Bang
Michelle Cottle
Pamela Evanshen
Tine Pernille Schaarup
v
Contents
Part I Danish/Nordic Child Care Tradition
1 The Key Characteristics of Danish/Nordic
Child Care Culture ................................................................................. 3
Grethe Kragh-Müller
2 Values in Danish Early Childhood Education and Care ..................... 25
Stig Broström , Anders Skriver Jensen , and Ole Henrik Hansen
3 The History of Children’s Engagements
in Danish Child Care .............................................................................. 43
Jakob Waag Villadsen and Pernille Hviid
4 Opportunities and Challenges in Icelandic Early
Childhood Education .............................................................................. 63
Johanna Einarsdottir
5 Comparative Perspectives on Early Childhood:
Choices and Values .................................................................................. 73
Charlotte Ringsmose and Sigrid Brogaard-Clausen
Part II Key Characteristics in Nordic Child Care Unfolded
6 The Role of Play in Danish Child Care ................................................. 95
Ditte Alexandra Winther-Lindqvist
7 Outdoor Education in the Nordic Region ............................................. 115
Ellen Beate Hansen Sandseter and Olav Bjarne Lysklett
8 Children’s Perspectives on Their Everyday Lives in Child
Care in Two Cultures: Denmark and the United States ...................... 133
Grethe Kragh-Müller and Rebecca Isbell
vii
viii Contents
9 Increasing Pedagogical Attentiveness Towards Children’s
Perspectives and Participation in Toddler Child Care ........................ 153
Lone Svinth
10 Children and Pedagogues as Partners in Communication:
Focus on Spacious and Narrow Interactional Patterns ....................... 171
Berit Bae
11 How Positive Childhood Experiences Promote Children’s
Development of Democratic Skills in Denmark ................................... 189
Charlotte Ringsmose and Grethe Kragh-Müller
12 Re-metaphorizing Teaching and Learning in Early Childhood
Education Beyond the Instruction – Social Fostering Divide ............. 205
Niklas Pramling , Elisabet Doverborg ,
and Ingrid Pramling Samuelsson
13 Collaboration Between Child Care and Parents:
Dilemmas and Contradictory Condititions
in the Institutional Arrangement of Child Care ................................... 219
Maja Røn Larsen
14 The Professional Identity of the Danish Pedagogue:
Historical Root in an Education with Focus on Democracy,
Creativity, Dannelse and a ‘Childhood Logic’ ...................................... 237
Sigrid Brogaard-Clausen and Charlotte R ingsmose
15 Leading Pedagogical Quality in the Context of Finnish
Child Care ................................................................................................ 253
Elina Fonsén and Janniina Vlasov
Introduction to the Nordic Social P edagogical
Approach to Early Years

There is an increasing focus on early childhood education quality globally, refl ect-
ing a growing political awareness that education starts earlier than primary school
and that high quality in early years infl uences children’s learning and development
in a lifelong perspective. This increased political interest in ECEC internationally
can be regarded as a consequence of the now comprehensive research across coun-
tries evidencing a correlation between quality learning environments and young
children’s development both in the short and long term (Heckman 2006; Bauchmüller
et al. 2011; Gupta and Simonsen 2013; Esping-Andersen 2011; EPPSE 2015). It is
generally acknowledged that high-quality preschool programs in early childhood
are of importance far into adulthood, both for choice of education, work, profes-
sional performance, and social and relational competences (Huntsman 2008;
Heckmann 2006; Belfi eld 2005).
A round the world, philosophies of early childhood education vary. The OECD
report”Starting Strong II” (2006) points to two different traditions when it comes to
preschools: the Nordic tradition and the French-English tradition – a “social peda-
gogical approach” and an “early education approach” or “the readiness for school
tradition.”
The Nordic tradition is based on a sociocultural theoretical premise that children
grow through interaction and communication in shared activities with adults and
other children. This social learning approach emphasizes play, relationships, and
outdoor life, and learning is presumed to take place through children’s participation
in social interaction and processes.
T he aim is to study major characteristics in the social pedagogical approach by
investigating the key characteristics in the Nordic approach. What are the character-
istics of the pedagogue? What are the important features that the Nordic approach
develops? What are the relationships with children in different traditions in what is
called the French-English tradition or the Anglo-American tradition and the charac-
teristics in the Nordic approach?
We want to investigate how children can enjoy childhood and at the same time
become able to actively participate in society and develop the social and cognitive
skills and competencies that individuals require to do well in society. The experiences
ix
x Introduction to the Nordic Social Pedagogical Approach to Early Years
and learning children gain in preschool centers stay with them for life and form
important foundations for the child’s development and learning opportunities.
T he book does not intend to represent details in differences between the early
year approaches in the Nordic countries nor to present each of the Nordic countries.
The book aims to explore what is called the social pedagogical approach and what
is distinctive in the Nordic approach to early year education and care. Also it is not
intended to provide a full picture of the French-English or Anglo-American tradi-
tion but to give some examples of different educational philosophies that strongly
infl uence childhoods.
T he idea of the book originates from Denmark – and has more chapters by
Danish researchers. The Nordic countries share many of the same philosophies and
traditions, even though some aspects vary from country to country. The contribu-
tions to the book from Iceland and Norway share many of the same elements of
what is called the Nordic tradition. Within the Nordic countries, there are variations
and cultural differences, but these are not the aim of the book.
T his book aims to critically explore how the social pedagogical approach sup-
ports children’s learning and development. It takes the Nordic perspective in order
to learn from this, maybe before it is too late. There is a concern in many of the
chapters as a consequence of the push for learning in early childhood education.
The push for learning may affect children’s right to a childhood. Across traditions,
children learn, develop, and become ready for school.
The Content of the Book
The chapters are grouped together in two parts. Part I is D anish / Nordic Child Care
Tradition . Part II is K ey Characteristics in Nordic Child Care Unfolded .
Part I: D anish/Nordic Child Care Tradition
The fi rst fi ve chapters describe and discuss the Nordic tradition in child care –
everyday practices, underlying policies, values, and development of the child care
sector. In the chapters, there is a concern and discussion about the move away from
the Nordic tradition and toward more structured learning approaches.
Part II: K ey Characteristics in Nordic Child Care Unfolded
These chapters deal with some of the key characteristics of Nordic child care tradi-
tion – the importance of play and outdoor life and the importance of children’s
participation, rights to have an infl uence on their everyday life, the tradition of lived
democracy, relationships between pedagogues and children, the children’s own per-
spectives on everyday life in child care, and the traditions in collaboration with
parents. The key characteristics of the pedagogue are also discussed. Finally, it dis-
cusses how the quality of the child care should be led from the Finnish perspective,
during the times of societal changes.