This article explores accounts given by Finnish educators (n=31) on flexibly scheduled early childhood education and care (ECEC) (e.g. childcare provided also during non-standard hours). Previous research has shown this to be a sensitive topic because of the contradiction between prerequisites (what is good for children) and actions (provision of childcare during non-standard hours). The research is following the principles of discursive psychology. Educators' accounts were labelled as excusing, compensating, normalising and justifying. The excusing and compensating accounts shared a concern about the effects of non-standard hour's childcare on children's wellbeing. Similar risks were not expressed in the normalising and the justifying accounts. Accounts differed as to who was held responsible for providing this type of childcare. When responsibility was attributed to society, the educators' position was weaker than when educators constructed themselves as active participants. Both educators and children were positioned uniquely in each type of account. As accounts have consequences on action it is important to make them visible in order to both understand and to develop practices in flexibly scheduled ECEC.

This study examined how Finnish parents working non-standard hours (N=18) positioned institutional flexibly scheduled early childhood education and care (ECEC) as a link in their chain of childcare. Interview data, analysed following the principles of discursive psychology, yielded three discourses on flexibly scheduled ECEC: the discourse of the child’s best interest, the discourse of the labour market, and the discourse of equality of opportunity for the child. Flexibly scheduled ECEC was positioned in these discourses either as the last resort option for childcare, a safe haven for the child, a societal service enabling parents to work during non-standard hours or as a place for children’s learning. It is important to recognise the origins of these discourses and reflect on them to improve ECEC services, so that they meet the demands of safety as a link in the chain of childcare and increase the level of parental satisfaction with them.

This study examined talk by parents about the early years transitions of their children (n = 7) in the context of parental non-standard working hours and Finnish early childhood education and care (ECEC) services. Parents were interviewed at three time points: when their child was aged one, four, five or six years (a total of 21 interviews). The third interview was conducted during the COVID-19 pandemic. This article focuses on the children's ECEC transitions and the interpretative frames used by parents when talking about their work and childcare. The frames used by the parents to discuss the children's transitions were stabilising the children's lives, balancing between staying at home and attending ECEC and adjusting to norms and rules. The diversity of families' experiences and their children's transitions during the early years should be considered when developing family policy and ECEC services. K E Y W O R D S childcare arrangements, COVID-19 pandemic, discourse analysis, early childhood education and care, early years transitions, horizontal transitions, life transitions, non-standard working hours, vertical transitions

This study examines pedagogy-related discursive tensions in flexibly scheduled early childhood education and care (ECEC) where services are available also during nonstandard hours. Analysis of interview data from 31 educators was based on discursive psychology. The tensions found are: 1) children's right to learn vs. need for care, 2) educator's educational background vs. personal strengths, and 3) pedagogy as standardized vs. situational practices. In conclusion, the features of flexibly scheduled ECEC challenge educators to bring their pedagogical practices up to date in order to guarantee each child opportunity to high-quality pedagogy irrespective of the timing of care. Author biographiesKaisu Peltoperä, MA (Early Education), University Teacher in Early Childhood Education in the Department of Education at the University of Jyväskylä. Her research interest focuses on flexibly scheduled ECEC. She is also working on in-service training of educators in those settings.

Arvosteltu teos: Kallinen, Kati & Pirskanen, Henna 2022. Lasten ja nuorten tutkimushaastattelu. Helsinki: Gaudeamus. 268 s.