I study the practices, processes, and structures of support received by children in early childhood education and care. The aim of my research is to produce information for building the early childhood education and care system and communities so that every child can come there just as they are, experience sense of belonging, learn and feel well. I defended my doctoral dissertation at the University of Jyväskylä in 2019. In my doctoral dissertation, I studied pedagogical documents prepared for children in early childhood education and care. Since 2021, I have worked as a senior research fellow in special education at the University of Eastern Finland.
My research focuses on various practices of writing and documenting early childhood education and care, the processes of developing common practices and cultures of kindergartens, as well as the flow of information and cooperation between early childhood education and care and social and health services. I am currently leading a research project funded by the Ministry of Education and Culture on issues related to the documentatilization of early childhood education. Documentalization refers to a development in which the role of various writings, texts, and documents in various societal functions and the work of professionals is emphasized. In teachers’ work, documentalization can be seen, for example, in the fact that the organization of teaching involves an increasing number of different plans, assessments, reports, and forms. Like many social phenomena, documentalization has two sides. On the one hand, it is essential for organizing the activities of educational institutions and planning teaching. On the other hand, texts and recordings often play such a large role in teachers’ work that the resulting change in teaching even causes undesirable consequences for learners. Balancing the challenges of record-keeping, information systems and information flow is also related to cooperation between the education sector and other service sectors, which I study as part of a larger national and Nordic research network.
What is important to me in research is its societal impact and dialogue with teaching professionals working in my research contexts. In recent years, I have worked in various national working and evaluation groups where early childhood education and care and support for children have been examined and developed. At the Young Academy Finland, I am particularly interested in influencing society and communication issues, as well as promoting the position of young researchers.
Website: https://uefconnect.uef.fi/en/person/noora.heiskanen/
X: @HeiskanenNoora