The Nordic Perspective on Early Childhood Education and Care

Abstract

This chapter discusses a number of central dimensions and dilemmas of early childhood education and care (ECEC) in the Nordic countries: Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden. In the two first sections, ‘Early Childhood Education and Care: An Integrated Part of the Welfare System, Democracy and Women’s Liberation’ and ‘ECEC for All in an Internordic Perspective’, we describe the fact that almost all children in the Nordic countries attend preschool, which on the one hand can be described in the light of the participation of both mothers and fathers in the labour market and on the other hand reflects the positive view of society with regard to ECEC. Then in Sect. 45.5, basic educational ideas are introduced, and for each country, there is an account of how early childhood services and education have progressed during recent decades. In continuation of this, Sect. 45.6 presents details from the development of curricula in each Nordic country during the last two decades. Subsequently, in Sect. 45.7, we focus on some current as also as upcoming tasks and problems related to children’s learning and development, which are also related to the question of ECEC Didaktik.