Finnish primary school as a learning environment for six-year-old preschool children

The aim of this qualitative case study is to explore how the teachers, parents and children describe the advantages and disadvantages of preschool education when it is located in the comprehensive school context. In addition, the study aims to clarify which dimensions of the learning environment occ...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:European early childhood education research journal 2014-10, Vol.22 (5), p.621-636
Main Authors: Havu-Nuutinen, Sari, Niikko, Anneli
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Case Studies
Definitions
Early Childhood Education
Educational Environment
Educational Quality
Elementary schools
Finland
Foreign Countries
Institutional Characteristics
Interviews
learning environment
Multiple Choice Tests
Parent Attitudes
Pedagogy
Physical Environment
Preschool Children
Preschool Curriculum
Preschool Education
preschool quality
Preschool teachers
primary school
Qualitative Research
Questionnaires
School environment
Shared Facilities
Student Attitudes
Surveys
Teacher Attitudes
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Summary:The aim of this qualitative case study is to explore how the teachers, parents and children describe the advantages and disadvantages of preschool education when it is located in the comprehensive school context. In addition, the study aims to clarify which dimensions of the learning environment occur in preschool? The learning environment is defined in physical-aesthetic, psycho-social, and pedagogical-ethical dimensions. Accordingly, the school environment provided a socially rich learning environment for preschool children and allowed versatile relationships between the preschool children and the school's pupils. The physical proximity was beneficial to preschool teachers' co-operation with class teachers and other school experts. However, the physical proximity caused doubts which were related to parents' concerns about children's transportation, their long school days and the organisation of care in the school context. Many preschool teachers experienced that the school context lacked opportunities for play and the amount and quality of indoor and outdoor equipment and material didn't support preschool children's high-quality learning. The school's physical environment had especially significant links with the psycho-social environment by expanding social networks and favorably influencing preschool children's and pupils' school motivation. There were, however, some negative features in the psycho-social learning environment, one of which was bullying, which worried preschool children and was mostly experienced in outdoor activities.
ISSN:1350-293X
1752-1807
DOI:10.1080/1350293X.2014.969084