Browsing by Author "Selin, Miia"

The qoal of this qualitative study was to study the perspectives of kindergarten teachers on multiprofessional collaboration with the basic education in the arts. There is a will to increase the accessibility of the basic education in the arts through collaboration with early childhood education. It has been proved that multiprofessional art pedagogy brings new, successful methods to support children’s growth and learning, and to elevate the quality of education. The qoal of this study is to examine how kindergarten teachers describe multiprofessional collaboration with teachers of the arts, and the influence of the collaboration. The research material was collected through interviews. Four kindergarten teachers and one early childhood special education teacher were interviewed. All the participants had taken part on a multiprofessional arts education project during the fall of 2016. The research material was analyzed in two parts with the methods of content analysis. The kindergarten teachers described multiprofessional collaboration in arts education as a process in which the collaboration became more natural during time. Collaboration required sharing and evaluation of the process. Partnership was first based mostly on respect but as the mutual trust evolved, it created interdependence and open communication. Collaboration was based on uniting the different know-hows of teachers of the arts and kindergarten teachers. Most problems were caused by rush and the lack of supporting structures and mutual time for planning. Most positive things were the development of the kindergarten teachers’ expertise, the empowering effect of collaboration and following the enthusiasm of the children participating. The kindergarten teachers mentioned that collaboration had influence on the children, the arts education of the daycare center and their own expertise. The collaboration made it easier to respond to special needs of the children, and the method of working was mainly suitable for children with special needs. They also felt that the collaboration increased equality among children. The kindergarten teachers’ expertise developed as they got tips, encouragement and new perspectives from the teachers of the arts. The kindergarten teachers felt that influences of the collaboration on their daycare center will be seen in the future.