Evaluation of the realisation of ECEC for children under the age of three

The evaluation will take place between 2026 and 2027 and the site will be updated as the evaluation progresses.

This evaluation will be conducted to examine how ECEC for children under the age of three is realised in Finland. The previous evaluations implemented by FINEEC have indicated shortcomings in the pedagogy for children under the age of three. According to the results, the objectives set for e.g., play pedagogy, art education, linguistically rich interaction or activities encouraging exploration are not in all respects realised in ECEC for young children. Thus, several recent national experiments have focused on children over the age of three. At the same time, the active measures taken to increase the level of participation have also increased the proportion of children under the age of three in ECEC. The evaluation supports comprehensive development of ECEC by producing information on the current state of ECEC for the youngest children.

The samples for the national evaluations have been drawn up in Autumn 2024. The municipalities in Mainland Finland have been allocated to participate in either the Autumn 2025 evaluation (Current state of quality management in early childhood education and care), the Autumn 2026 evaluation (Evaluation of the realisation of ECEC for children under the age of three), both evaluations or neither evaluation. In order to ensure a representative sample, either all public and private early childhood and edcation centres in the municipality, some centres, or none been selected for the evaluation on the basis of the size of the municipality. The contact persons for early childhood education and care in each municipality have been informed of the inclusion of their municipality in the sample. Questions concerning the samples can be sent to: valssi@karvi.fi