D4 Published development or research report or study
Varhaiskasvatuspalvelut koronapandemian aikana (2021)


Saranko, L., Alasuutari, M., & Sulkanen, M. (2021). Varhaiskasvatuspalvelut koronapandemian aikana. Jyväskylän yliopisto. JYU Reports. http://urn.fi/URN:ISBN:978-951-39-8614-8


JYU authors or editors


Publication details

All authors or editorsSaranko, Lotta; Alasuutari, Maarit; Sulkanen, Mimmu

eISBN978-951-39-8614-8

Journal or seriesJYU Reports

eISSN2737-0046

Publication year2021

Number of pages in the book1 verkkoaineisto (92 sivua)

PublisherJyväskylän yliopisto

Publication countryFinland

Publication languageFinnish

Persistent website addresshttp://urn.fi/URN:ISBN:978-951-39-8614-8

Publication open accessOpenly available

Publication channel open accessOpen Access channel

Additional informationTutkimus on osa Varhaiskasvatus ja koronapandemia -hanketta.


Abstract

The report presents the results of a survey carried out in autumn 2020 for the heads of early childhood education and care (ECEC) units regarding the provision of ECEC services during the Covid-19 pandemic. In normal circumstances, the national legislation determines the preconditions for ECEC. During the coronavirus state of emergency in spring 2020, however, Finnish municipalities were exempted from the responsibility to provide ECEC in compliance with the Act on Early Childhood Education and Care, if the child’s guardians were able to organise childcare in other ways. In this situation, municipalities and ECEC units adopted different solutions for implementing and offering ECEC for children who remained at home. Based on a questionnaire sent to the heads of ECEC units, this report examines the changes that took place and solutions that were made in ECEC centres and family day care during the state of emergency. The survey is part of the Early Childhood Education and Care and the COVID-19 Pandemic project, which has been implemented in cooperation with the Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare (THL). The project is funded by the Ministry of Education and Culture. The questionnaire was sent to all municipalities in mainland Finland (N = 294) to be forwarded to the heads of ECEC centres and family day care. The questionnaire was answered by 727 heads of ECEC units, some of whom worked at day-care centres, some in family day care, and some in both types of ECEC. Among the respondents, 662 answered questions about ECEC centres and 119 about family day care. The survey provided information on approximately 18% of Finland’s ECEC centres. About 15% of Finland’s family day care providers worked under the heads of family day care who answered the questionnaire. The heads who responded to the questionnaire worked in 198 municipalities. The heads of ECEC centres represented all Finnish regions, and the regions with the largest population numbers gave the most answers. The most actively responding heads of family day care came from the regions of North Ostrobothnia, Southwest Finland and Central Finland, whereas no heads of family day care answered in Kymenlaakso. The results demonstrated that the state of emergency during the coronavirus pandemic and the government’s request for children to remain in home care significantly reduced children’s participation in ECEC. Children in family day care participated in ECEC more often than did those in ECEC centres. Nearly all respondents reported that the families of children in home care during the state of emergency were offered compensation for their usual ECEC fees. Only about one third of the heads of ECEC reported that the compensation was subject to special conditions. During the lockdown measures imposed in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, most ECEC centres remained open in Finland, but they modified their activities. The adaptation to the situation typically included an increase in outdoor activities, restricting the activities between different groups of children, and the reorganisation of daily routines. Staff were seldom transferred between ECEC centres during the lockdown, but some transfers were made between the groups. In addition, staff were transferred to other duties, such as home-help services, from several ECEC centres. The instructions given to municipalities and private service providers varied regarding the arrangement of ECEC and pre-primary education for children who stayed at home, as well as regarding the contacts with the parents of these children. Agreements on common ways of working varied also between the ECEC centres; in family day care, agreements were only seldom made. Nine out of ten heads of day-care centres reported having organised pre-primary education remotely. For children younger than pre-primary education age, instead, remote ECEC was organised considerably more seldom. Less than half of the heads of ECEC centres and one fourth of the heads of family day care reported having provided ECEC for children who remained at home. The children in home care and their families were typically supported by phone and email. ECEC and pre-primary education were mostly implemented by providing task packages to be brought home by the families, and by organising video-mediated activities and activities that the families could utilise independently. Children in private ECEC centres were provided with activities replacing ECEC more often than were those in municipal ECEC centres. Differences were observed also in the forms of support between different groups of municipalities. In autumn 2020, most ECEC centres continued to take precautions due to the coronavirus pandemic. The most typical precautions were aimed at restricting close contacts between the groups of children by, for example, phasing activities, rearranging routines, and limiting the amount of cooperation between groups. External contacts were also reduced by centralising the staff’s duties to the premises of their own ECEC centre and by ensuring that only the children and staff used the indoor premises of the ECEC centre. According to the answers of the heads of the ECEC units, precautionary measures for potential future lockdowns were uncommon in autumn 2020. A minority of them reported that the municipality or unit had devised a plan for future crises similar to the coronavirus state of emergency.


Keywordsearly childhood education and careday care centresday carefamily day carefamily day care childmindershome careCOVID-19unusual conditionsfamilies with childrenparents


Contributing organizations


Ministry reportingYes

Reporting Year2021


Last updated on 2024-26-03 at 09:20