Access to universal early childhood education and care in Finland: A relational approach

Universal early childhood education and care is seen as a policy context that provides equal opportunities for all children to access early childhood education and care. In this view, ‘context’, such as the national early childhood education and care system, is often understood as a fixed space that is consistent for everyone. Examining the arrangements of early childhood education and care services at the local level of the universal early childhood education and care system in Finland, this article argues for a relational approach to examine access to early childhood education and care. It aims to exemplify how examining the arrangements of early childhood education and care from multiple entry points of place and scale can help to broaden understanding of the local barriers to access. The data consists of interviews with early childhood education and care administrators and parents from 10 municipalities in Finland. The article calls for a shift in focus from early childhood education and care systems as spatially transferrable entities to a more holistic and relational approach to the childcare decisions of families.