Country Language

Canada

59.1% Eng22.9& French18.0% others

higher birth rate in Aboriginal communityhigh employment from mothers with

young childrenincrease of single parents with young chsignificant rates of child povertyincrease of non-traditional working hours

Finland

90% Finnish5.4% Swedish4.4% Eng<1.0% Sami

•Expansion of knowledge and expertise as well as the skills to create new inventions.• Changes in Families• Women’s entry into working life• Family with Ch 0-7 and parents’ employment situation

Switzerland

64% German20% French6.5% Italian1% Romansh

Female labor force Multicultural society: immigrants and refugees cover 40% of the population To improve education of the family

Task:Compare

Early Childhood Curriculum

in Canada, Finland

and SwitzerlandGroup C

Noor Hezleen, Low Lai HarAzali and Noormedia

Context:Policies that guide the development of ECEC in the country

Input:The financial, teacher training and support services of the EC Education

Process:Principles, approaches to learning and assessments methods

Product:Children Development Output & Outcome

Using the CIPP Model

Canada

32 M in population 10 provinces, 3 territories Economy: Service sectors,

industries & resource-based

7.9 M in population 26 cantons Economy: high labor

specialization, industry and trade

5.4 M in population 6 provinces Economy: Service sectors,

industry and trade.

1. Context

Similarities:1. Female Entry into Working

Life2. Increase of Immigrants3. Improving Family Education

Need of the Country!

More reasons:higher birth rates among Aborigin than the

general population increase of single parents with young chsignificant rates of child povertyincrease of non-traditional working hours

More reasons:Expansion of knowledge and expertise

as well as the skills to create new inventions.

Changes in Families

i. Children and Family Services Act 1990ii. Education Act O. Reg (Full Day Junior Kindergarten and Kindergarteniii. Early Childhood Educators Act 2007 i. Agreement on the Coordination of Education 1970, by the Confederation of Cantonal Directors of Education (CDIP)… to develop education and harmonise the cantonal legislation on education.

National Documents:i. Legislation on Child Daycare and Pre-School Educationii. National Policy Definition on ECECiii. National Curriculum Guidelines on ECECiv. Core Curriculum for Pre-School Education in Finland.

Local Policy:i. Local Policy Definitions and Strategies ii. Local ECEC Curriculumiii. Local Pre-School Education Curriculumiv. Individual ECEC Plan and Pre-School Education.

Policy Concerning ECEC

Canada

… lies with the provincial and territorial governments.

… the federal government is responsible for specific populations, like the Aboriginal people, military families, immigrants and refugees.

Federal > Province > Municipal > School Board

Finland

• … the responsibility of local (municipal) authority.• may organise education independently or jointly with other local authority, or purchasing program from a licensed organisation.• Federal > Municipal > School Board

Switzerland

… the responsibility of each Canton, for the accreditation and supervision of childcare facilities. The federal ordinance set the quality standards. not compulsory but universally attended.

EC Education is …

Canada Switzerland Finland1. Main services are: a. kindergarten (5yo)b. child care (<5yo)

2. Age: Mostly 5 years old(95% of 5yo attend

state-funded kindergarten)

1. Main services are:

a. Preschool (4-5 y.o)b. Childcare facilities (<4yo)

2. Age: Mostly 4-5 years

old (86% of 4 yo attend

preschool)

1. Main services:a. Preschool (6yo)b. Preschool + Day

Care(Mixed Model)

2. Age:Mostly 6-7 years old.(95% of 6yo attend preschool)

ECE Portfolio

Canada Switzerland Finland3. Supported by:a. Public health careb. Public educationc. Government Income Transferd. Child and family service

4. Curricula varies among provinces.Part-time Program (2-5 hours) a day.

3. Supported by:a. Schemes of vouchers

4. Curricula varies among Cantons.Almost all kindergarten are less than half a day.

3. Supported by:a.

4. National Guidelines for ECEC (3.5 hours a day)

ECE Portfolio

Canada Switzerland Finland5. The benefits are:i. Stable fundingii. Trained teachersiii. Structured

programiv. Regular

monitoring & Evaluation

6. ECE available for:i. Ch with disabilitiesii. Ch fr low-income

familiesiii. Aboriginal

children and diversity

iv. Immigrant children

5. Benefits are:a. Schemes of Vouchers

6. ECE available for:i. native childrenii. Children fr low-income familiesiii. Immigrants ch

5. Benefits:a. Schoolbooks, Learning materialsb. Warm school meals dailyc. transportation/ suitable assistanced. counnselling 6. ECE available for:i. Children with special needs

ECE Portfolio

Objectives of the ECEC

… is to support children’s growth towards humanity and ethically responsible membership of society, and to provide children with the knowledge and skills necessary in life..Vision: Finland an Information Society

…is to improve access to and quality in ECEC, to strengthen the foundation of life long learning (OCED,1998)

Motto: Making Lifelong Learning a Reality for All

… is to prepare children for school, integrate non-native and handicapped children into the school system and identify children with learning problems.

Compulsory primary school for 9 years

All teachers are prepared in academic university, holding a Master Degree

Political authorities views education as the critical diver to survive and thrive

Free education for all No standardized test/exam until 16

years old School receive full autonomy Expansion of vocational education Building upon expertise of local

players High cooperation btw stakeholders Regional development and

networking.Meas, B. (2010)

10 changes made in Policy Development and Reform Principles of Basic and Secondary Education in Finland 1968:

To sum up… ECEC evolves due to similar factors: working parents, family education and encouraging integration of diversity. Each country hopes to produce independent individual that can achieve the vision of the country.Education and good monitoring of children’s development can benefit the country in the future.

Looking at:2. Input

Funding

EC Educators

Support Services

Funding Kindergarten has for many years been well- funded by international standards Canada covers only 5-year olds to a significant extent. Free pre primary education 0- to 7-year-olds: is 1.1% of GDP. Including the pre- school class (6-7 years), the investment rises to 1.3% of GDP, and when expenditure on the home care allowance is added, the figure reaches 1.7% of GDP. the budget is largely devolved from the central level to ECEC providers.The financing of obligatory education in Switzerland falls under the responsibility of the cantons (provinces), together with the communities. it is financed with locally collected tax revenues. Free pre primary education

GDP : 0.2%

GDP : 1.7%

GDP : 0.19%

bachelor degree 1-year of teacher training

bachelor or master’s degree in education, or

a bachelor degree in social sciences

additional pedagogical course.

Diploma in Teaching

PRESCHOOL TEACHER QUALIFICATION

Canada Switzerland Finland professional development training to keep skills and knowledge up-to- date

The Canadian Association of Principles provides continuing education

states require continuing education to maintain licensure.

to raise the level of professional standards for teaching staff.

extending to raise the level of professional qualifications into areas beyond basic training courses.

Supplementary training prepares teachers to teach additional learners in other subjects or at other level

enable the teachers to adapt to changes and advances in conceptions of teaching and learning.

establishing a continuation from basic training and in- service training

in- service training as part of teacher workload.

Support Services

Best Start: Ontario's Maternal Newborn and Early Child Development Resource Centre supports service providers across the province of Ontario

workshops are provided for parents with children in the pre-school program. The workshops discuss issues related to health, nutrition, parenting, education and community resources.

Fee subsidy helps families in financial need with the cost of child care. family resource programs offer a range of services to families, both site based services and outreach.

Support Services

Before- and After-School Activities.

Pre-primary education, meals, health care and transportation are provided free of charge.

Children are entitled also to a day-care place. In day care, there is an income-based fee. 

These welfare services cover the physical, mental and social well-being of students and the responsibility for welfare work rests with all adults at each school.

Support Services «Basisstufe» (transition from kindergarten to primary school: The introduction of a new provision for the transition from kindergarten to primary school . Children aged 4 to 8 are taught together in one class.

A scheme of vouchers: The Swiss government plans to support a childcare voucher scheme to help parents reconcile work and family life.

Conclusion:The three factors which are found to be essential in having a well developed early childhood education are sufficient funding, qualified or well trained teachers and good support service.

Finland is established in childhood education compared to ECE in Canada and Switzerland.

In order to have a fair and accessible early childhood education, central government should provide a standardized system in terms of distribute funding.

AREAS OF LEARNINGSUBJECT

APPROACHESLEARNING ENVIROMENT

PROCESS

EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION CURRICULUM

Areas of Learning

Personal & social development

• Connected to others & contribute to their world. Have strong sense of identity well being

Language

• Effective communicators

Mathematics

• have conceptual understanding of mathematics, mathematical thinking & reasoning

Science & Technology

• Curios & connect prior knowledge to new contexts in order to understand the world around them

Health & physical activity

• make healthy choices & develop physical skill

Subject

Early literacyOral ,reading & view ,write & representing

Social studies• Myself,

family, community

Science• Exploring

• Using sense

Early numeracy• Number

sense, patterns.

Measurement,

geometry

Heath & physical

• Psychical, healthy & personal develop

CreativeMusic ,art,

drama, play

Approaches

Integration

• Drawing together natural connections among various curriculum areas to assist children making sense of their world , acquire skills, attitudes & knowledge that will allow them to grow & learn holistically .

Learning centers

• Promote play-based opportunities to engage hands on & mind on, enhances & enriches a children's learning

Learning Environment

Using space• Group related

centers/material together/block centers e.g.. Mathematic , listening centre

• Visual display e.g. charts, word wall

• Open area for movement

• Areas for quiet & rest

Use of time• Should consider

attention span of children,

• The length of time they attend school

• The familiarity routines, their strength ,need & interest

Use of resource• Organized & label

materials• Variety of material• Have community

volunteers

Assessment

Observing

• To gather information about & evidence of a child learning-at least one observation of each child each week

• Anecdotal notes• Checklist• Rating scales

Documentation• Detailed record of ongoing evidence of a child

effort• Portfolio

Monitoring• Communicating with parent• Progress report• Parent educator conference

Areas of Learning

Mathematical orientation

• Making comparisons, conclusions & calculation in a closed conceptual system

Natural science orientation

• Phenomena of natural world

Historical societal orientation

• Develop an understanding of the operation of modern city

Aesthetic orientation

• Give children personal sentiment, feelings & experience of beauty, harmony, melody, style, excitement and joy, as well their antitheses

Ethical orientation

• Child have concept good ,wrong, truth, bad & lie

Religious philosophical orientation

• Traditions, customs, & practices of the child own religious or belief.

Subject

Mathematics

Environmental &

natural science

Psychical & motor

development

Health

Language interaction

Art & culture

Ethnic & philosophy

Approaches

Dimension of care, educating & teaching

• Can promote the Childs positive self image, expressive, & interactive skills & development of thinking

Learning environment

Refer to physical, psychological, social, cognitive, emotional environment

Guide children curiosity interest learning motivation

Opportunities to play

Should be joyful, open, encouraging & unhurried

Tool & material should be support children development into members of modern information society, safety & security

Assessment

Child need support and need assessment

Areas of Learning

Personal, emotional & social development

Communication, language & literacy

Mathematical development

Knowledge & understanding of the world

Creative development

Physical development

Approaches

Mix age groups appear

• Provide many opportunities for peer teaching.• The older children explaining things to a younger child/younger child observing & asking question

Teacher actively involved

• in the children free play as she gave verbal clues, encouragement & assisted children with problem solving

Class circle time

• Was highly structured, including an oral language section in which children heard a story & were ask to retell it. Nonverbal communication also was an explicit aspect of circle time

Learning environment

Station

• Complete a task before moving next station

Open area for movement

• Play activities• Movement games

Assessment

Teacher observation

• In term of general physical, social & emotional development• Gross sensory and fine motor skill• Visual perception• Language development of speech• Spatial orientation.

Evaluates children learning difficulties

The children are observed to their readiness for school

Conclusion

• The learning to support & enhancing creative ,physical ,social,

intellectual, language & literacy also numeracy development.• with different process

• Based on the needs, policy, objective of ECEC of the country

Educational outputs are the direct results of the education process: on the one hand, qualifications and percentages of students achieving them & on the other hand, students’ competencies and skills at the end of their education and training. Outcomes refer to the medium to long-term effects of education on other factors of social and economic relevance.

(Source: CSRE Swiss Coordination Centre for Research in Education)

&

• Children are connected to others and contribute to their world.

• Children are able to communicate effectively.

• Children understand mathematical thinking & reasoning.

• Children are curious & connect prior knowledge to new contexts in order to understand the world around them.

• The child’s overall well-being so as to ensure the best possible conditions for growth, learning and development.

• The child is able to enjoy the company of others experiencing joy & freedom of action in an unhurried, safe atmosphere.

• The child can direct his / her energy to play, learning & everyday activities with an appropriate level of challenge.

• Preschool encourages the socio-effective, psycho-motoric & cognitive development of children & prepares them for entry into school.

• Each child is supported according to its developmental

• The development of independence is emphasized as well as individual, social & intellectual skills.

Learning Outcomes

A strong education system is crucial to establishing future competitiveness, as well as to creating a cohesive and productive society. This criterion assess the extent to which a government’s education policy facilitates high-quality learning that contributes to personal development, sustainable economic growth and social cohesion. Focus areas include the need to provide a skilled labor force, upper secondary and tertiary attainment levels, and (equitable) access to education. Research has increasingly shown the value of pre-primary education as well, particularly in helping non-native children to higher levels of attainment later in their educational careers.

SGI - Sustainable Governance Indicators 2011

Source: SGI – Sustainable Governance Indicators 2011 http://www.sgi-network.org

PRE-PRIMARY EDUCATION: PERFORMANCE COMPARISON

vs vs

Source: SGI Sustainable Governance Indicator 2011http://www.sgi-network.org

*In all cases, higher scores reflect better performance.

PRE-PRIMARY EDUCATION: PERFORMANCE COMPARISON

vs

Source: SGI Sustainable Governance Indicator 2011http://www.sgi-network.org

*In all cases, higher scores reflect better performance.

The PISA Assessment conducted in 2003 provided the last indication as to the long-term effects of

attending preschool. Young people who stated that they had attended pre-school for a year or longer achieved higher levels of proficiency in mathematics than young people who had not

taken part in preschool education

Source: Organisation for Economic Cooperation & Development (OECD), 2004

PISA: Program for International Student Assessment.

PISA is the only international education survey to measure the knowledge and skills of 15-year-olds, an age at which students in most countries are nearing the end of their compulsory time in school.

To ensure comparability, observed values are transformed into SGI scores on a scale from 1 to 10. The lowest value translates into score 1, the best value into score 10. Remaining values are transformed according to the original data distribution.

Source: SGI Sustainable Governance Indicator 2011(http://www.sgi-network.org)

On average, how well do students Canada , Finland & Switzerland score on PISA tests?

Ralph Marvin Steinman- From Montreal Quebec, Canada

- Canadian immunologist and cell biologist at Rockefeller University

-2011 Nobel Prize in Physiology / Medicine (posthumous)

- Martti Ahtisaari- 10th President of Findland

- From Viipuri Finland-Nobel Prize winner (peace) 2008

- Kurt Wuthrich- Swiss  chemist/biophysicist

- From Aarberg, Canton of Bern, Switzerland - Nobel Prize in Chemistry (2002)

Learning Outcome Long Term Achievement

(The Nobel Prize)

Famous Finnish People:Mika Hakkinen World

champion for 7 times and won the Formula I, World Championships title in 1998 and 1999 for team McLaren.

Tennis professional Roger Federer was the first Swiss man to win a Grand Slam title.

In 2012, he became a seven-time Wimbledon champion, tying with Pete Sampras for the world No. 1 ranking record of 286 weeks

Team Canada Womenwin 2012 International Ice Hockey

Federation (IIHF)World Championship

LEARNING OUTCOME: LONG TERM ACHIEVEMENT (SPORT)

CANADA: Achievement of the essential graduation learning's will prepare students to continue to learn throughout their lives. These learning's describe expectations, not in terms of individual school subjects, but in terms of knowledge, skills, and attitudes developed throughout the curriculum.

FINLAND : to promote the child’s overall well-being, ensure the best possible conditions for growth, learning and development. The child is interested in the environment, and can direct his or her energy to play, learning and everyday activities with an appropriate level of challenge. 6 essential graduate learning: aesthetic expression, citizenship, communication, personal development, problem solving & technology competence.

SWITZERLAND: Preschool promotes individual development and social learning and prepares children for starting school. The children are able o read, write & understand basic math concept which incorporate with 6 areas of learning: 1) personal, emotional & social development, 2) communication, language & literacy, 3) mathematical development, 4) knowledge & understanding of the world, 5) creative development, 6) Physical development.

Similarities Different1) Funding Subsidies from governmento CANADA: Funding of pre-primary

education for 3- to 6-year-olds: about 0.2% of GDP; for all child

care, 0-12, funding amounts to 0.4% of GDP.o SWITZERLAND (voucher)o FINLAND - A National Child

Benefit (NCB) monthly payments from the Government of Canada to low-income families with children & benefits & services designed & delivered by provinces and territories to meet the needs of low-income families with children in each jurisdiction.

1) Curriculum FINLAND – follow a

National Curriculum Guidelines for ECEC.

SWITZERLAND – depends own canton.

CANADA – Every province have a different curriculum.

2) Method of teaching & learning Play- children discover new

realities, to experiment with strategies and to learn to apply rules. 

Within the context of a global economy, education is taking on a new significance valuable resource in so-

called knowledge societies. Regulating the curriculum is seen as a pro-active contribution towards acknowledging the early years as an

essential foundation for individual learning biographies & towards raising the status &visibility of

early childhood institutions. What works in one country , may not work in other

countries. Some aspects of teaching & learning that could be applicable for educators around the world.

Austin, G.R. (1976). Early childhood education: An international perspective. New York: Academic Press.

Eggleton, A. & Keon, W. (2009). Early Childhood Education and Care: Next Steps: Report of the Standing Senate Committee on Social Affairs, Science and Technology Canada.

Fuentes, A. (2011), “Raising Education Outcomes in Switzerland”, OECD Economics Department Working Papers, No. 838, OECD Publishing. http://dx.doi.org.

 Hega, G.M. (2000). Federalism, subsidiarity and education policy in Switzerland. Regional &

Federal Studies, 10(1), 1-35.

Grierson, H. (2000). Early Childhood Education and Care Policy in Finland: Background reportprepared for the OECD Thematic Review of Early Childhood Education and Care Policy. http://www.oecd.org/copyr.htm

SGI Sustainable Governance Indicators (2011). Performance comparison. Retrieved November 16, 2012, from the World Wide Web: http://www.sgi-network.org

 SGI Sustainable Governance Indicators (2011). What percentage GDP is spent on

pre-primary  education? Retrieved November 16, 2012, from the World Wide Web:http://www.sgi-network.org

 Swiss Conference of Rectors of Universities of Teacher Education (COHEP). (2012).Studying in

Switzerland: Universities of teacher education. Berne, General Secretariat COHEP.