Early childhood teacher education focused on multilingual and multicultural issues

1. Early childhood teacher education focused on multilingual and multicultural issues Gunilla Holm Professor of Education University of Helsinki

2. Background • New early childhood teacher education program in Swedish at the University of Helsinki in collaboration with Åbo Academy University started in September 2011 • One previously far away located program • Poor student recruitment from the Helsinki region • 20-50% uncertified early childhood teachers in metropolitan Helsinki region

3. Legal regulations for teachereducationuntil 2006 • No moremonopoly on teachereducation • Municipalinitiative for the program • Collaboration and muchactivism (regional city heads of education, regionalmunicipalorganization) and lobbyingwithin the university for a positiveanswerby the University of Helsinki and the Ministry of Education

4. Politicalresistance • Areweourownworstenemy? Media war • The Swedish-speakingcommunitydivided on the issue---politicallobbying, support of a Member of the Parliament, politicians, SwedishPeople’sParty, Minister of Culture, Ministry of Education • Costs

5. Guidingprinciples • Minorityprogram, lessinterest – freedom • The Convention on the Rights of the Child serve as a foundation for early childhood education and care in Finland . Article 29: • “(c) The development of respect for the child's parents, his or her own cultural identity, language and values, for the national values of the country in which the child is living, the country from which he or she may originate, and for civilizations different from his or her own;

6. (d) The preparation of the child for responsible life in a free society, in the spirit of understanding, peace, tolerance, equality of sexes, and friendship among all peoples, ethnic, national and religious groups and persons of indigenous origin”

7. Ministry of Social Affairs and Health (2002) – values in the Constitution: quality, sanctity of human dignity, securing personal freedom and personal rights, freedom of religion as well as language and cultural rights. Furthermore, children should be treated as equals and be heard in things concerning them.

8. National curriculum for pre-school (2000, 6-year old children) • Children should be given the same opportunities to learn and develop • Socially just – special education at an early stage • Cultural and linguistic identity should be strengthened

9. National curriculum guidelines on early childhood education and care • “treated fairly regardless of gender or social, cultural and ethnic background” • Advisory Board for Early Childhood Education and Care (2008) - a high quality program should diminish differences among children from different living conditions and social class background

10. University based Bachelor’s degree since 1995, 180 study points • Polytechnicdegree – notpre-schoolcertified • foundations of education (25 points): foundations of early childhood education, history and philosophy of early childhood education, sociological foundations of early childhood, child development and socialization, a course in how children learn and two practice periods Ia and Ib.

11. General early childhood and research related courses (40 points) : multilingualism, the role of play, special education, educational planning, theory and teaching in preschool education, childhood psychology, socio-emotional development and family dynamics, qualitative and quantitative research methods, thesis seminar and thesis.

12. The courses required for preschool teaching certification include media culture and media education, social interaction and belonging in a multicultural society, language development and stimulation, drama, mathematics, environment and natural sciences, religion and ethics, children’s literature, art, crafts, music, movement and health as well as practice periods II and III.

13. A minor consisting of 25 points. This could be, for example, in-depth didactic studies in literature, music or sports, etc. • Most will take the minor in Finnish. There are not enough resources to offer it in Swedish • Bilingual program

14. Three program foci • Multilingual education, identity and diversity, and esthetic education • Separate courses but infused in all relevant courses • Over 65% of the children in daycare in the metropolitan Helsinki region come from Finnish-Swedish bilingual homes

15. Multilingualism • bi- and multilingualism • language stimulation activities • language immersion programs

16. Identity and diversity • Swedish culture in Finland – inclusive of bilingual children and children with Swedish as a second language • Multicultural education – inclusive definition; ethnicity, race, social class differences, religion, disability • gender – big achievement differences

17. Longtermgoals: • Strengthen the Swedishlanguage and culture amongchildren • Reduceprejudice and discrimination • Understanding and including a variety of minoritygroups • Provideearlychildhoodeducationteacherswhocanestablishsocially just daycare and pre-schoolenvironments

18. Importance of universitylevelearlychildhoodteachereducation in a minoritylanguage • requires solid knowledge of - one’s own language, - how language develops - research about bilingualism in order to be able to further mono- and bilingual children’s language development and skills. - teachers become bilingual: major in Swedish, minor in Finnish

19. - Swedishchildren’s culture & cultural-estheticlearningopportunities Challenges: • RequirequalifiedSwedishspeakinguniversityearlychildhoodeducators • Poolingresources, collaborationskills, patience, willingness to compromise, funding, goodstudents and politicalwill for the program to survive