Choosing an international daycare in Finland : perspectives of parents
Gavrilova, Svetlana (2023)
Gavrilova, Svetlana
2023
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Julkaisun pysyvä osoite on
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-2023052313493
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-2023052313493
Tiivistelmä
The importance of the English language in Finland is constantly growing. Studying in English expands the opportunities to get into an international environment and widens the choice of career paths. More and more parents start looking into these alluring prospects for their children and choosing international-based educational institutions from an early age.
In the scope of the given research, the concept of an English-language daycare has been discussed. The international daycare located in the Helsinki Metropolitan area was a working-life partner of the present thesis. The outcomes have shown the impact of the family language profile and the sociocultural background of the parents and guardians on the choice of daycare. The perspectives for the future education of English-language daycares graduates have also been looked into.
To set a theoretical foundation, the Finnish educational system was explored with a focus on bilingualism and sociocultural development. Finnish National Core Curriculum for early childhood education and Care was studied in terms of multiculturalism and language acquisition. Besides this, the position of English-language educational units in the Finnish educational system was described.
The data was collected through a survey conducted among the parents and guardians of the chosen daycare as well as through the interviews held with the teachers. The research results were processed with a quantitative analysis method. The findings indicate parents´ desire to make their children bilingual. Also, the parents mentioned their uncertainty about staying in Finland in the future, feeling uncomfortable communicating with the Finnish daycare staff, the child´s ability to speak English while traveling to different countries, having more career opportunities in the future, and exploring the world outside Finland.
This research is a foundation for a possible bigger research on bilingualism and multiculturalism in Finland. It gives a clue to the reasons why people choose English-language educational path staying in Finland and what perspectives they see for their children after graduating from English-language daycares. This topic should be investigated with a deeper look as there are still a lot of concerns and questions without answers.
In the scope of the given research, the concept of an English-language daycare has been discussed. The international daycare located in the Helsinki Metropolitan area was a working-life partner of the present thesis. The outcomes have shown the impact of the family language profile and the sociocultural background of the parents and guardians on the choice of daycare. The perspectives for the future education of English-language daycares graduates have also been looked into.
To set a theoretical foundation, the Finnish educational system was explored with a focus on bilingualism and sociocultural development. Finnish National Core Curriculum for early childhood education and Care was studied in terms of multiculturalism and language acquisition. Besides this, the position of English-language educational units in the Finnish educational system was described.
The data was collected through a survey conducted among the parents and guardians of the chosen daycare as well as through the interviews held with the teachers. The research results were processed with a quantitative analysis method. The findings indicate parents´ desire to make their children bilingual. Also, the parents mentioned their uncertainty about staying in Finland in the future, feeling uncomfortable communicating with the Finnish daycare staff, the child´s ability to speak English while traveling to different countries, having more career opportunities in the future, and exploring the world outside Finland.
This research is a foundation for a possible bigger research on bilingualism and multiculturalism in Finland. It gives a clue to the reasons why people choose English-language educational path staying in Finland and what perspectives they see for their children after graduating from English-language daycares. This topic should be investigated with a deeper look as there are still a lot of concerns and questions without answers.