Hilla Villanen

This study focused on occupational well-being among early childhood education and care (ECEC) teachers ( n = 409) participating in Finland’s two-year pre-primary education trial (2021–2024). We examined what kinds of occupational well-being profiles could be identified among the ECEC teachers and which teacher-related and contextual factors explained them. Based on latent profile analysis, three profiles were identified: thriving ( n = 250), with low burnout and high engagement, balanced ( n = 133), with average burnout and engagement, and burdened ( n = 26), with high burnout and low engagement. Burdened teachers were negatively affected by staff turnover, while balanced teachers had more children in need of support compared to thriving teachers. Thriving teachers received more support during the trial than two other groups. The findings suggest that during educational reforms, teachers may experience their well-being differently. Varying demands and resources can either promote or hinder occupational well-being and should therefore be carefully considered in policy implementation.

Between 2021 and 2024, the Ministry of Education and Culture implemented a two-year pre-primary education trial in 148 municipalities in Finland. In the trial, 37,357 children born in 2016 and 2017 were randomly assigned to trial and control groups. Children in the trial group began pre-primary education at age five, while those in the control group continued in the existing system. The trial was governed by temporary legislation and guided by a trial curriculum. A multidisciplinary research team monitored and evaluated the trial. This report presents the results of four surveys conducted by the research team of the University of Jyväskylä. The surveys were carried out in 2022 and 2023 at the end of each implementation period. Each year, surveys were conducted for municipal officials responsible for early childhood and pre-primary education and for early childhood education (ECE) teachers responsible for five-year-olds’ trial and control groups. The findings show that the level of support provided to teachers for familiarizing themselves with the curriculum and implementing the trial varied between municipalities. Approximately one-quarter of teachers reported receiving no supervision with curriculum familiarization, and about one in ten had received no support for implementation. Feedback on local trial curricula was requested in many municipalities, but they were rarely updated for the second trial year. Pre-primary education for five-year-olds was most often provided in daycare centers, scheduled in the mornings for four hours a day, five days a week. However, there was variation in how the trial was organized and implemented. Trial groups engaged slightly more in guided activities, introduced children slightly more to reading readiness and mathematical skills, and collaborated more with six-year-old’s pre-primary and early primary education than control groups. According to teachers, responsibility for planning, implementing, and evaluating group activities was more concentrated on teachers in trial groups, although plans for educational activities were drafted almost similarly to control groups. Continuity in peer group structure across the transition from the five-year-old group to the six-year-old group was more pronounced in the trial groups compared to the control groups, whereas staff continuity was less certain than the continuity of the child groups. The role and time allocated to play remained unchanged compared to ECE. Most municipal officials and teachers perceived pre-primary education for five-year-olds as different from ECE, particularly in organization, activities, and skill development. Municipalities received inquiries from parents regarding the trial, most often requests to transfer a child to a trial group or obtain more information. Teachers reported that families’ attitudes toward the trial were generally positive.