Why study?

Thank you for your interest in this course! The majority of the assignments are based on your personal reflections, where you can consider your own experiences of different learning environments. In this course, you will study by:

• watching videos (see guide)
• familiarizing yourself with the text material and research articles
• completing small tasks that support your learning
• taking part in the voluntary exam (quiz). You can try as many times as you need to complete the quiz and you can start anytime! 
• You will receive a grade after completing the compulsory assignment (Thoughts on early education) at the end of this page. Assesment scale: pass/fail.

Reflections for practical implications

If you work with children, you can apply the reflection tasks in the development of your work community. The reflection assignments are based on a FINEEC publication on the everyday quality in early childhood education and care. Note: The reflection tasks are voluntary. When you finish an assignment, please manually mark it as completed.

To see the reflection tasks, you must sign up for the course

Each topic area will feature a video, images, text, forum discussions and/ or practical exercises that teachers/educators can put into practice. After completing the course you will receive a credit and a course certificate (a transcript of records) of your competence from the University of Jyväskylä. Above all, you will learn something new and you can take advantage of what you have learned in your work and future studies! Note: The official university study register requires strong authentication. Welcome to the course!

Sign up here!

Learning happens everywhere, all the time – and everyone has a right to it!

We have a lot to learn from each other. There are good practices everywhere. We are happy to learn from them!  Below you will find a reflection task where you can share important ideas from your educational context.

Note: There are subtitles available (click the quotation mark at the bottom right corner of the video player).

Set your own personal goals for learning

At its best, the learning outcomes support the transfer of learning to everyday life. Therefore, we ask you to set your own goals for your learning as well. 

• Are you going to use what you have learned in your work as an ECEC teacher, a member of an educator team, or the director of an ECEC centre? 
• Do you, as a parent, want to better understand pedagogy? 
• Do you want to get more detailed ideas and a comprehensive description of how to build a holistic pedagogy and enable children's participation in your ECEC? 

It is also important that you reflect on your own experiences during the course. Clear and personalized goals will help you focus on the knowledge and skills that are important to you in your learning. Identifying your current learning challenges and moving forward with your interests will provide you with insights on your learning path.