Drawing on sociocultural theorizing, this case study investigates and unpacks the qualities of "scientific play" during children's inquiry-based science activities framed by imagination and play (i.e. Poetry Science). The data were gathered in Finnish preschool groups with children aged five to six years old (N: 31) over a five-week…

This research is a comparative study of Finnish and Australian science curricula in early childhood education (EC). The study aims to figure out the constructivist components of the science curriculum in two countries as well as locate the similarities and differences in the rationale and aims, contents, learning outcomes, learning activities,…

"Creative Little Scientists" was a 30-month (2011-2014) EU/FP7-funded research project focusing on the synergies between early years science and mathematics education and the development of children's creativity, in response to increasing interest in these areas in European educational policy. Using a variety of methods, including desk…

This qualitative study examines the professional development of early education preservice teachers and the initiatives behind the formation of a professional identity in the early stages of their studies. Professional identity is examined through the motivational factors that guide students to a minor in early education. The theoretical framework…

Family-related factors, like parent's educational level, their values and expectations have a significant impact on child's early skills and later educational outcomes. Further, parents provide their child, alongside with other learning environments, a broad mathematical and early literacy input. This study investigates the relationship between…

Drawing on cognitive science, child psychology, education and economics literature, this paper investigates the significance of early childhood development and highlights the value of investment in early childhood education (ECE). The young child requires adequate psycho-stimulation for the optimal development of the brain, which subsequently…

Project-based learning (PBL) is a promising teaching method for integrated science education that has gained momentum in educational research and curriculum reforms, especially as a method to enhance 21st century skills and connected worldview. How teachers implement PBL greatly affects students' content understanding and development of skills.…

We provide an integrative review of research on gender and academic careers conducted in the Nordic countries from 2003-2018. We investigate the nature and content of contemporary Nordic research and critically examine the methodological and theoretical approaches authors have used. We read, categorised, and analysed 74 articles retrieved from Web…

This paper, based on interviews conducted for the "Early Childhood Oral History Project," draws on oral life-history interviews with 14 prominent early childhood researchers who have been active since the 1970s within diverse European countries. A common theme across the interviews is the key role that collaborative research between…

In order to facilitate policy-driven reforms in science education, it is important to understand how teaching innovations diffuse among teachers and how that adoption process can be catalysed. Little is known about the set of attitudes that makes teachers early or late adopters. In this study, the Concerns-Based Adoption Model (C-BAM) was employed…

Women's under-representation in the fields of science and technology is strong; both in software houses and academic posts. We focus on the academic field by gender sensitive analysis of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) academics. The general picture given by statistics' meta-analyses illustrates male dominance even in Finland, which…

Continually increasing demands are being placed on the educational system to prepare students with technical skills due to the exponential implementation of information, technology and automation in the workforce. Students should work with design, problemsolving and computational methods and tools early on in their school lives in basic education…

This paper explores the career-building of junior academics in the current higher education environment, which is characterised by short-term employment conditions. The paper is based on focus group discussions with Finnish early career academics working in the social sciences. Drawing upon a narrative approach, five career stories are…

This book demonstrates clear links between play and Australian education policy and framework documents, including the Early Years Learning Framework and National Quality Standards. It provides clear and in-depth coverage of essential theories, including good coverage of the Reggio Emilia approach and provides real life examples of professional…

The aim of this study is to provide an understanding of context-based inquiry teaching within a humanistic perspective on science education by studying pre-service teachers' beliefs about inquiry and their implementations of inquiry in their context-based teaching sequences. Therefore, five pre-service teachers enrolled in a university…