Browsing by Subject "päiväkotiryhmä"

Aims. The goal of the research is to open the differences between Swedish speaking and Finnish speaking kindergartengroups and their quality. The aim of the study is to find out whether there are differences in Swedish speaking and Finnish speaking kindergarten groups. Previous studies have shown that learning environments affect on the child's motivation, the way the child commits to the task and the child's performance. The quality of the classroom environment also affects on the child's well-being and development. Data and methods. A quantitative study consisted of Swedish speaking kindergarten groups (N=48) and Finnish speaking kindergarten groups (N=38). The survey consisted of respondents from Finland (N=86). The analysis was done with the SPSS-software and included examination of t-tests. The results were compared between language groups. The results and discussion. The learning environments were of better quality in Finnish speaking kindergartens. The arrangements of the environment had more quality in Finnish speaking kindergartens. The differences between Finnish speaking and Swedish speaking kindergartens were statistically significant (p<.03). Differences between Finnish speaking and Swedish speaking kindergartens were statistically significant (p<.00) in activity and transitions. Finnish speaking kindergartens also had better quality in classroom activities (p<.00). Finnish speaking kindergartens exceeded the Swedish speaking kindergartens in instructing the child's behavior (p<.00). The early childhood care takers ways to plan the work was also of better quality in Finnish speaking kindergartens as opposed to Swedish speaking kindergartens. The results were statistically significant (p<.04) The need of more research is obvious, because of the lack of studies about Swedish speaking early childhood education. The results also raised some ideas for further study, for example a study about the administrative differences between Finnish speaking and Swedish speaking early childhood education.