Browsing by Author "Känä, Emilia"

The aim of this study was to find out how well the special needs of children are recognized, evaluated and monitored, how changes are made to the level of support and what factors affects the realization of the support that a child needs. This study produces topical information about support practices in municipalities. Previous studies on three-tier support in early childhood education have not been conducted, thus this study provides new insights into the practices of three-tier support model. The subject of the study is very topical. Three-tiered support is under development in early childhood education and information is needed on the practices implemented. Emilia Känä, Lotta Meismaa and Piia Lahti have created indicator of this study and collected the research material in 2020 as part of Opettaja työnsä tutkijana –course at Helsinki University in collaboration with the Board of Education. The survey was conducted as stratified random sampling. A total of 209 ECEC leaders, 186 Finnish speaking and 23 Swedish speaking, answered to the questionnaire from 198 different municipalities in Finland including Åland. 62,3 % of the Finnish municipalities responded to the survey. Answers were analyzed combining quantitative and qualitative analyses. Conclusions are presented with tables and examples form research material. The results showed that the special needs of children are recognized quite well, but the practices for evaluating and monitoring the need for support are diverse. According to findings of this research, some municipalities lack a plan, policy or tool for monitoring support. Research shows, that there are differences and similarities between municipals at different levels of three-tiered support model. Most differences were found in the practice of intensified and special support. Research shows that municipalities can provide support quite well, but there are still various reasons why the needed support is not put into practice. The study highlighted the reasons related to personnel and the municipality as well its lack of resources. Conclusion is that practices are diverse at the national level and equality is not achieved. A national support model is needed and ECEC law and the National curriculum for ECEC are need to be changed to ensure equal support.