Browsing by Author "Taipalus, Hanna"

The new standards governing early childhood education provide regulations for the kindergarten teacher’s knowledge and work content. The eligibility terms for the work of a kindergarten teacher allow for both the kindergarten teachers and the social pedagogues to work in the kindergarten teacher's job. The goal of this research was to find out how students from kindergarten teacher education and social pedagogue education see the work of the kindergarten teacher and themselves in it. Previously obtained research evidence shows that the level of education is one of the key quality indicators in the work of the kindergarten teacher. Education also creates the basis for professional identity and competence. Estimates from the knowledge of kindergarten teachers and social pedagogues show that their skills are very different and that kindergarten teachers from different education backgrounds define their roles as a kindergarten teacher in different ways. In the gathering of the material, kindergarten teacher and social pedagogue students at the end of their studies were interviewed. The interview was conducted as a pair interview, including one interview with two kindergarten teacher students and one with two social pedagogue students. The interviews were transcribed and then analyzed by themes to find answers to the research questions. The results showed that the descriptions of students were conceptually similar but differences were found depending on the skills produced by their education background. As a whole, the answers of the kindergarten teacher students were more profoundly described and more coherent than those of the social pedagogue students. The differences in the descriptions by the students related to daycare as an institution and the role of the kindergarten teacher as a social support for the parents. The results can be used to deepen understanding of the impact of different educational backgrounds on the work of kindergarten teachers.