Asemantausta daycare centre
The overall experience was positive. All discussions were reciprocal. We learned about Norwegian early childhood education and compared it to our own. We also saw our own early childhood education from a new perspective. We noticed how we deal with similar phenomena in early childhood education in both countries, such as early childhood education and care, children’s mental health or need for support in parenting. The rest of the staff were friendly but rather shy towards the visitors. Only a few dared to speak in English, but otherwise they were interested in joint discussions. Pride in Finnish early childhood education has grown, and we can be grateful for things like the meals, cleaning as well as the planning, assessment and development time of teachers in our daycare centres.
Sari Launiainen, kindergarten manager
Ersta daycare centre
As an new experience, this was quite interesting. I was nervous about the visit beforehand, not least because speaking Swedish or English didn’t sound very easy for me. Similarly, traditional Finnish ideas surfaced about what visitors think of us and how our work differs from each other. It was so empowering to realize at the end of the day that I got through the day, even in my opinion, just fine. The guests seemed to enjoy themselves with us, and the best part was the numerous professional discussions, which brought up the fact that our work is not that different after all. To sum it all up: I’m immensely proud of myself for daring to step out of my comfort zone that day in many ways, and I think I experienced something that I wish many other kindergarten managers did. So I highly recommend this job shadow method!
Sari Kantola, kindergarten manager
Norsamby 