Skip to main content

An Introduction to the Nordic Countries Around Family, Children and Early Childhood Education

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
Nordic Families, Children and Early Childhood Education

Part of the book series: Studies in Childhood and Youth ((SCY))

Abstract

The Nordic countries continually score high in lifestyle measures, quality of life and children’s outcomes. With a combined population of over 26 million people, innovative policy is often implemented to deal with a small but spread-out population. For over 200 years the countries have kept peace with each other and have substantial cooperation across national borders. Much of this has to do with specific culture and policy of the Nordic countries. This chapter provides an introduction to Nordic policies around children, families and early childhood education. This introduction provides a summary of the current research findings about families and children across the Nordic countries. The findings provide important insights into the ‘Nordic model’ and offer readers the chance to understand the relevant issues facing Nordic countries.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

eBook
USD 16.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 16.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 109.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Notes

  1. 1.

    Also includes Åland, the Faroe Island and Greenland.

References

  • Bennett, J. (2005). Curriculum Issues in National Policy Making. European Early Childhood Education Research Journal, 13(2), 5–23.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bronfenbrenner, U. (1986). Ecology of the Family as a Context for Human Development: Research Perspectives. Developmental Psychology, 22, 723–742.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bruner, J. (1996). The Culture of Education. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Dalli, C., Miller, L., & Urban, M. (2011). Early Childhood Grows Up: Towards a Critical Ecology of the Profession. In L. Miller, C. Dalli, & M. Urban (Eds.), Early Childhood Grows Up: Towards a Critical Ecology of the Profession (pp. 3–19). Dordrecht: Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-2718-2_1

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Finlands Official Statistics. (2017). Statistics. Retrieved from https://www.stat.fi/index_en.html

  • Finnish National Agency for Education (OPH). (2016). National Core Curriculum for ECEC 2016. Määräykset ja ohjeet 2016:17. Yliopistopaino: Finnish National Agency for Education.

    Google Scholar 

  • Garbarino, J. (1992). Towards a Sustainable Society: An Economic, Social and Environmental Agenda for Our Children’s Future. Chicago, IL: The Noble Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Garvis, S., & Ødegaard, E. (2017). Nordic Dialogues on Children and Families. London: Routledge.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Johnson, E. S. (2008). Ecological Systems and Complexity Theory: Towards an Alternative Model of Accountability in Education. Complicity: An International Journal of Complexity and Education, 5(1), 1–10.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nordén, P. (2018). Regnbågsungar. Familj, utbildning, fritid [Rainbow Children: Family, Education, Leisure Time]. Göteborg: Acta Universitatis Gothoburgensis.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pramling, N., & Pramling Samuelsson, I. (Eds.). (2011). Educational Encounters: Nordic Studies in Early Childhood Didactics. Dordrecht: Springer.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pramling Samuelsson, I., Sheridan, S., & Williams, P. (2006). Five Preschool Curricula – in a Comparative Perspective. International Journal of Early Childhood, 38(1), 11–30.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rogoff, B. (2003). The Cultural Nature of Human Development. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sheridan, S., Garvis, S., Williams, P., & Mellgren, E. (in press). Critical Aspects for the Preschool Quality in Sweden. In S. Phillipson & S. Garvis (Eds.), Early Childhood Education in the 21st Century: Policification of Childhood: Early Childhood Education and Care in the 21st Century. Singapore: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sheridan, S., & Williams, P. (Eds.). (2018). Undervisning i förskolan. En kunskapsöversikt [Teaching in Preschool. A Literature Review]. Stockholm: Skolverket.

    Google Scholar 

  • Shonkoff, J. (2010). Building a New Biodevelopmental Framework to Guide the Future of Early Childhood Policy. Child Development, 81(1), 357–367.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Skolverket (Swedish National Agency for Education). (2017). PM - Barn och personal i förskolan hösten 2016. Stockholm: Skolverket.

    Google Scholar 

  • Statistics Denmark. (2015). Population at the First Day of the Quarter by Region, Sex, Age (5 Years Age Groups), Ancestry and Country of Origin. Statistics Denmark.

    Google Scholar 

  • Statistics Iceland. (2017). Highest Positive Net Migration Since Registration of Migration Began in 1901. Retrieved from https://www.statice.is/publications/news-archive/inhabitants/migration-2017/.

  • Statistics Norway. (2017). Population by Immigrant Category and Country Background. Statistics Norway.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sweden and Migration. (2019). Retrieved from https://sweden.se/migration/#2015.

  • Sylva, K., Melhuish, E., Sammons, P., Siraj-Blatchford, I., & Taggart, B. (2010). Early Childhood Matters: Evidence from the Effective Pre-school and Primary Education Project. London: Routledge.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • UNESCO. (2008). The Contribution of Early Childhood Education to a Sustainable Society. Paris: UNESCO.

    Google Scholar 

  • Vygotsky, L. S. (1986 [1934]). Thought and Language. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Williams, P., & Sheridan, S. (forthcoming). Preschool Teacher Competence – the Point of Intersection of Quality in Teaching (Accepted Manuscript for the Journal Tidskriftet Barn).

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Susanne Garvis .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2019 The Author(s)

About this chapter

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this chapter

Garvis, S., Harju-Luukkainen, H., Williams, P., Sheridan, S. (2019). An Introduction to the Nordic Countries Around Family, Children and Early Childhood Education. In: Garvis, S., Harju-Luukkainen, H., Sheridan, S., Williams, P. (eds) Nordic Families, Children and Early Childhood Education. Studies in Childhood and Youth. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-16866-7_1

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-16866-7_1

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-030-16865-0

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-030-16866-7

  • eBook Packages: Social SciencesSocial Sciences (R0)

Publish with us

Policies and ethics