Since the amendment of the Early Childhood Education Act on August 1, 2022, all providers of early childhood education activities are required to follow a new, national support structure within early childhood education. The structure consists of support at general, intensified, and special levels and applies to both the form of support and the decision-making process.

The project’s goal is to map how the support within early childhood education is implemented, how well the support structure works, and the quality of the support the child receives in daycare. An effective support system requires appropriate practices for supporting the child and continuous evaluation of the support’s effectiveness. So far, there is limited knowledge about how the support structure has been adopted, and its impact on the support the child receives. The project includes actors both in municipal and private early childhood education.

The project is carried out in collaboration between the University of Eastern Finland, Tampere University, and Åbo Akademi University. Professor Päivi Pihlaja at the University of Eastern Finland serves as the project leader. The project involves both early childhood education and special education. At Åbo Akademi University, Katri Hansell works as the project manager, Eva Staffans and Christel Sundqvist as project researchers, and Sanna Neovius as research assistant.

The project aims to answer questions such as:
•How is the child’s right to support defined and how is it considered in the organization of support?
•What practices have been established in municipalities to promote children’s participation and influence in the organization of support?
•How do multiprofessional teams function as providers of support?
•How are special teachers’ consultation, full-time and part-time special education, and co-teaching characterized and implemented?