Browsing by Author "Suominen, Annika"

In my research I concentrate on studying multiculturalism in early childhood education. Multiculturalism is a current issue and everyday reality to many kindergarten educators. I am mainly interested in knowing how the workers experience multiculturalism in their work. While it enriches their work, it also creates challenges. My focus is on how these experiences are described by the educators. I interviewed three kindergarten teachers and one nurse by using a narrative technique and also a critical incident method. I made analysis by using a content analysis. Multiculturalism is often experienced in a positive way and it makes the work more interesting. Laws define the action but sometimes there are contradictions which the work community has to solve. Such challenges might involve the child’s language development, participation in different kind of feasts or collaborating with the parents. It is important to try to find the solutions with the parents so it is essential to have a good relationship between the kindergarten and families. Educational partnership is based on trust and communication when both educators and parents want to support the child's development. This might require different kind of effort and conversations when the family is multicultural and there is no mutual language or if there is ignorance about cultural habits.