Developing Multicultural Early Childhood Education in a Finnish Context

In this article conditions and activities for developing multicultural educational practices during early childhood education are examined. Within this context, basic ideas for constructing a curriculum, from the national level to the school, teacher and child levels, are described. An important forum for developing educational practices in multicultural education is co-operation with other countries. Theoretical light is shed on the ongoing EU-project INCLUD-ED and recent Finnish experiments and concrete strategies for changing early childhood practices to a more inclusive pedagogy are suggested. Finally, some evaluative comments and questions about fostering multicultural early childhood education in Finland are raised. In this context the important role of early childhood education is recognized as preventing societal and educational exclusion and fostering student's long-term school success.