Browsing by Author "Tanneraho, Maija"

The main objective in this research is to bring forth the elements of parent involvement, which are found in the context of Finnish early childhood education according to experiences and personal opinions among early childhood educators. The Includ-ED –project (Strategies for Inclusion and Social Cohesion in Europe from Education 2006), has been used as a frame for the research. This EU project, carried out between 2006-2011, was promoting social inclusion. As background research I have unraveled how the co-operation between educators and parents develops into educational partnership, since parent participation intersects both. The aim for the applied research problems were to highlight factors promoting and preventing inclusion and co-partnership. The research had a qualitative viewpoint. Elements and phenomena of parent involvement in early childhood education were to be brought out in the case study through human experience among early childhood educators. A case study consisting of a co-operation network of early childhood educators from one particular day care center formed the research context. The research material was gathered during autumn 2009 by interviewing early child-hood educators and their fellow educational professionals in a day care center situated in Helsinki metropolitan area. The research material consisted of four standardized open interviews. The analysis of the transcripted research material was carried out by content analysis. The research material revealed six elements promoting parent involvement; cooperation, interaction, respect, trust, tolerance and also the helping of parents in Finnish early childhood education context. The research material also revealed three elements preventing or obstructing parental involvement; areal demographical and social diversity, language problems and children's problems as a disincentive in parent involvement. The most significant promoting element in parent involvement was scheduled or prearranged pedagogical discussions between parents and educators. According to this research the lack of a mutual language between parents and educators prevented parent involvement, which was emphasized in daily interactions or encounters. As a result of this research it is proposed, that it is highly important to offer further training to early educational personnel if required and to pay attention to the possibilities of the workplace to improve and develop its working methods, by granting it time for professional discussions.