Special Issue: Kindergarten Pedagogy and Policy

This article is an introduction to a special thematic issue of Nordic Studies in Education focusing on kindergarten pedagogy and policy within the field of Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) in a Nordic context. The article provides an overview of the five articles contained in the issue.


Jenny Steinnes
Inland Norway University of Applied Sciences (INN University), Norway

Stine Vik
Inland Norway University of Applied Sciences (INN University), Norway

Guest editors: Camilla Eline Andersen, Jenny Steinnes and Stine Vik
This special issue of Nordic Studies in Education focuses on kindergarten pedagogy and policy within the field of Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) in a Nordic context. The relationship between pedagogy and policy consists of manifold and contradictory values, knowledge, and practices -some of which have given rise to considerable changes and discussion. Diverse stakeholders have engaged in conversations on the development of these values as political choices, and the consequences that the expressed priorities will have on future kindergarten pedagogy. In contrast to many other European countries, the Nordic kindergarten tradition has its own identitya pedagogy independent of -and often in opposition to -pedagogical practices in schools. However, this division between kindergarten and schools is changing.
In 2006, Norwegian kindergartens became a formal part of the educational system.
In 2011, the term "upbringing" (oppdragelse) was removed from the general curriculum and replaced with the term "Bildung" (danning). This change marks a transformation in kindergarten pedagogy (practice, theory, research) from an independent field of pedagogy towards a pedagogy defined by the rhetoric of school. The latest curriculum changes in Norwegian kindergartens in 2017 clearly emphasize the function Special Issue: Kindergarten Pedagogy and Policy 207 of kindergartens as an integral part of the educational pathway and as preparation for schooling. Similar developments can be seen in the other Nordic countries. In 2004 in Denmark, kindergartens became legally required to produce educational curricula. In both Sweden and Iceland, kindergartens are seen as part of the educational system.
In contrast, in Finland kindergartens are placed under the Ministry of Social Affairs, however they offer a pre-school program for children 6 years and older intended to prepare the children for school. Experiencing this historical development towards a "school like" pedagogy in the Nordic kindergarten model, a central question emerges: what challenges and which changes are important for the development of Nordic kindergarten pedagogy in the twenty-first century?
The changes described have received attention from various voices within the field of kindergarten pedagogy, several of whom have expressed concern over, opposition to, and criticism of a lack of reflection on the consequences of these changes on the children who represent the future of the Nordic region. Facing these challenges head-on, this Special Issue of Nordic Studies in Education has a wide scope and addresses various aspects of current Nordic kindergarten pedagogy, early childhood education and care policy. Through contrasting theoretical perspectives, the contributions in this issue highlight the theme of kindergarten pedagogy and politics. Directly or indirectly, the articles present challenges to the political development of kindergarten policy and the changes facing kindergarten pedagogy. By offering multi-faceted theoretical perspectives and different approaches to research, we believe that these articles have the potential to contribute to the future development of Nordic kindergarten pedagogy.
In the first article, "Barnehager som konkurrerende virksomheter" (Kindergartens as competing businesses), Hanne Fehn Dahle presents aspects of competition between kindergartens, in a situation where the number of kindergarten-age children continues to drop due to declining birth rates. In Norway about 50% of children go to private kindergartens, in contrast to the other Nordic countries where about 80% of children go to public kindergartens. Competition is likely to be more frequently experienced in Norway. Drawing on Freidson's (2001) theory on professionalism, the article focuses on the ways in which teachers in Norwegian kindergartens experience and assess this competition. The empirical data stem from interviews with 18 teachers employed by large private kindergarten enterprises. Freidson identifies the types of logic evident in the field: the logic of the market, the logic of bureaucracy and the logic of the profession. The analysis demonstrates that while the teachers identify most closely with the "third logic", that of the profession, they face a competitive market regulated by supply and demand. Thus, they find themselves caught in the tension between, on one hand, the ethical values inherent to the profession, stressing their own professional judgement and the interests of all the children, and on the other, the owner's need to win the competition, leading to product orientation, marketing, and secrecy.
In the second article, "Säkerhet samt upplevelsebaserat lärande i en variation av lärmiljöer-två centrala policyer i mobila förskolor" (Security and experience based Camilla Eline Andersen, Jenny Steinnes and Stine Vik 208 learning in a variety of learning milieus -two central policies in mobile preschools),

Katarina Gustafson, Danielle Ekman Ladru and Tanja Joelson present new know-
ledge on pedagogical practices in mobile preschools in Sweden and how they relate to policy. This knowledge is relevant to a Swedish context, where the number of mobile preschool busses has increased due to demographic changes and urban planning, as well as early childhood institutions that wish to move their pedagogical practices to different spaces. The article's objective is to analyze how professionals working in mobile preschools talk about their specific pedagogical practices and its potential.  in order to be able to take the child's position. She states that this might develop into a strong source of energy for change and learning. Today kindergartens seem to be colonized by experts and politics. In this article, a voice is given to unconscious knowledge processes without removing the same processes from logical reasoning or justification.
Her hypothesis is that complexity requires closeness to the practice field. Reaching goals of meaning making and knowledge creation, learning and development depend on opening up to the art of not knowing, expressed as nomadic waiting. Provisional processes crossing provisional borders enable translations and interpretations beyond known vocabularies in unfinished channels. Education needs new grounds, humble foresights, doubting researchers and politics that make this possible.