Abstract

The curriculum of any given country is generally acknowledged as an important factor in promoting the transfer of information considered to be essential to the ability of that society to function as intended. In democratic societies the curriculum of the nation is viewed as promoting knowledge crucial to maintaining the democracy and encouraging the success of its citizens. Relatedly, the impact of the curriculum is further recognised as affecting the welfare and economy of any given culture.

The government of England, and the government of Finland, in conjunction with their respective educational departments (England: Department for Education, DfE, 2013; Finland: Finnish National Board for Education, FNBE, 2016) have recently reformed their respective national curricula. As regards six-year-olds the curriculum requirements of these two countries differ significantly. England maintains a subject-based curriculum and a national testing system, whereas Finland has initiated an operationally based curriculum stressing the importance of phenomenon-based learning by doing and exploring.

This study examines how Finnish pre-school and English primary school teachers perceive the joint effects of recently reformed curricula, pedagogy and children’s school readiness. T

he study encompassed 17 English primary school teachers and 20 Finnish preschool teachers and obtained data by means of semi-structured interviews and questionnaires. Responses from both participant groups were synthesised qualitatively using a thematic approach in order to examine how teachers view their country’s current curriculum and educational practices with respect to supporting six-year-old children’s learning.

The study revealed that teachers in both countries had similar views as to school readiness expectations. Further findings indicated that the differing curricula had a strong influence on the pedagogical practices employed. Thus, teachers’ curriculum-based expectations for the attainment and academic accomplishment of six-year-olds are considerably higher in England than in Finland. However, the interviews also revealed a clear sense that these high expectations were a cause for uneasiness amongst English teachers. This uneasiness was primarily related to age-related demands, testing, and underachieving children. English teachers expressed concerns that the current curriculum is overly demanding, disengages the children, diminishes their creativity and possibly affects their mental health. National testing and high curriculum targets were viewed as the main causes for the above. Finnish teachers generally expressed favourable opinions of their new curriculum. Participants felt the pedagogy employed was helping them to promote children’s ‘learning to learn’, including their self-regulation skills, and making children school ready through play-based education continuing up to the age of seven. The most frequently mentioned reasons for this general approval were the government’s trust in teachers and the freedom to create, in conjunction with children and guardians, their own local curriculum and learning targets free of accountability or national testing for specific academic targets.