The study presented in this article is part of a larger study called Progressive Feedback (blogs.helsinki.fi/orientate), which is an early childhood education and care (ECEC) research and development project. The aim of this article is to find out (a) how childreńs tested creative thinking abilities, fluency, originality and imagination correlated with childreńs social orientations in kindergarten and (b) how childreńs participative orientations occur in relation with the teacher and peers. The data consist of Reunamo’s child interview tool and the Thinking Creatively in Action and Movement (TCAM) test. The data (280 children from 23 kindergartens and pre-primary schools) were gathered from two municipalities in southern Finland. The results show that the participative orientation was strongly connected with creative thinking abilities, but it was rare in social situations concerning adults. In participative orientation, children concern the situation and intend to change it.

The present study investigated the role of music education in early childhood education and care (ECEC) in relation to the daily activities of children ages one to three, i.e. toddlers (N = 918) in Finnish ECEC units (N = 327). A total of 23,142 random observations were conducted. The observations focused on children’s involvement, emotional expressions, social orientations and interaction with their immediate caregiver. An independently conducted survey was used to evaluate music emphasis in groups to which the observers did not have access. The data consist of the analysis of teachers’ self-evaluations concerning the role music plays in daily activities and developmental orientations of toddlers in ECEC. The connections between the large-scale observations and independently measured music emphasis are discussed in the Results section. The results of the study highlight the importance of music in ECEC pedagogy for toddlers. The children in groups where music/singing was emphasised exhibited more sustained intense activity and less low or interrupted involvement. These groups also exhibited more positive emotions, increased social adaptation and increased social involvement with adults. Special emphasis on music enhanced the pedagogical learning environment.

New educational technology has become an important part of modern teacher education in Finland today. Studying music in Finnish teacher education means both studying music didactics and developing musical skills. With only a limited number of contact lessons in the regular curriculum, new learning environment solutions with new technology are needed. This is a qualitative case study of 16 students’ experiences of studying group composing in a blended learning environment. The purpose of the study is to enrich face-to face, teacher-led learning in music with new technology and the e-learning environment and to develop a new technology-based blended learning model for student teachers’ needs. The research questions considered the kind of learning experiences students had in studying music, especially group composing in a blended learning environment and how a blended learning environment can help students learning music in a creative learning process. The research is a qualitative approach to students’ (16) experiences of a new blended learning environment. The blended learning method used was the rotation method, in which students learn through a schedule of independent online study in the “Rockway” music-e-learning environment, other informal online learning environments, social media and face-to-face classroom time during a 5 credit points music course. The qualitative data has been collected during the studies through group interviews and reflective writings of students’ learning experiences that took place after the course. The data has been analysed by content analysis. The major advantage of blended learning is that it offers more opportunities for independent and constructive learning. The experiences of a blended learning environment were positive and the teacher's role was seen as an important and helpful mentor for more independent learning and creative learning in groups. According to students’ experiences, the greatest benefit from e-learning was achieved by those who already had some musical background before these studies. The use of information and communication technologies improved students’ attitudes towards independent learning concerning their musical skills

The purpose of this research is to study the information-seeking competencies, practices, and knowledge of university actors. In this observational case study, observers followed the information-seeking processes of eleven Finnish students, researchers, and information specialists†. The participants were also personally interviewed. Scientific information seeking proved to be a very complex phenomenon. Three different types of information seekers were found. Most informants had minimum contact with the library, and only a few had knowledge of the value of using librarian competence. The recognition of the centrality of information-seeking studies in university curricula is growing. More faculty-librarian collaboration is needed to attain information seeking and learning outcomes defined within the revised curricula

The concept of pedagogy is the key to understanding pedagogy in early childhood education (ECE) in the Nordic countries, which are known for their high quality of life and education. However, in ECE, there are several different approaches toward pedagogy and it can be said that pedagogy is a multidimensional and dynamic concept. In this paper, the different approaches to pedagogy are defined and reconceptualized through an integrative literature analysis focusing on scientific papers and research reports of the concept. Five approaches to pedagogy were constructed: pedagogy through interaction, pedagogy through scaffolding, pedagogy through didactics, pedagogy through expertise, and pedagogy through future orientation. The identified tensions and elements within the five approaches are presented. Finally, the shared elements among these pedagogical approaches are presented in a dynamic model.