Day Care and Preschool

In the 1860's Uno Cygnaeus brought the concept of kindergarten to Finland.  In the 1970s, the government passed the Child Day-Care Act, which decreed that all day-care centers provide supervision by registered child-care providers.  

Click here and here and here to learn more about Uno Cygnaeus.  

The Finnish Ministry of Education sees preschool as a part of the early childhood education process as assisting in the goal of equal educational opportunities for all.  Currently 96% of children partake in the preschool system.  The curriculum is prescribed at the national level but carried out at the municipal level.  

A study in the 1970s by the Ministry of Education and that for Social Affairs and Health allowed for a pre-class consisting of six-year-olds to begin the first year of comprehensive school, if seen relevant by the local council.  The transitional year for six-year-olds provides the strong foundation for high-quality education for the Finnish people.  In the 1990s, it became a goal for all six-year-olds to have the right to attend preschool education.  Today, six-year-olds have the right to free schooling, under the organization of the municipalities.  School for six-year-olds takes place in either schools or day care centers.  This way, students have preparation before basic education.  All day care teachers have university training.  

Since 2001, the Basic Education Act has administered the provision of preschool education, which is an obligation of the local authorities and a right for families.  

Finnish Schools: Some Early Observations

In 1931, Gilmour observed a school in the Helsinki area, the Kaisaniemen Kansakoulu.  She documented that all children had medical examinations twice a year, and noted "the orderliness, the politeness, the independence, the thoroughness, the co-operative spirit, the initiative, the absence of self-consciousness" (p. 63).  

Gilmour observed that the Finnish primary school sought "'through labour to labours' to keep a close connection with practical life" (p. 64).  She also remarked how the Finnish school provided a strong foundation for those who continued with study in addition to those who would leave the education system sooner than some of their peers.  

In 1968, Binham noticed the remarkable welfare available to students through the schools: "Everything at the elementary school is free -- free books, free meals, free medical and dental treatment, and for children living more than three miles from school (the rule rather than the exception in more remote districts) free transport.  Clothes and shoes are also provided for needy pupils" (p. 157).  

In 1970, Bacon detected a sense of practical and applied education.  He uses the example of language.  Finnish students spent a considerable time on modern languages, rather than classical languages.  He also observed how early school ended for the children.  Even today, PISA data shows that Finnish students spend very little time in the classroom compared to their counterparts in other countries.