On an Educational Trip: Differences in Early Childhood Education Between Switzerland and Finland

Finnish early childhood education—what a point of pride worldwide! This has been the case for a long time, but is it still? While the planning, individual support, and pedagogy in Finnish early childhood education have made significant strides, the sector faces labor shortages and stress, often in the headlines.

I'm Teija, one of the teachers at Kamukoti. I've been exploring Swiss early childhood education this spring and would like to share some essential differences between Finnish and Swiss systems from the perspectives of children and families.

Starting Daycare – Is My Child Too Young?

When a parent brings a nine-month-old baby to daycare in Finland, emotions often run high. How are my child’s signals recognized if they can't express themselves with words yet? How will their routines, like sleep patterns, be accommodated at daycare? Will I miss too much of my child's developmental milestones? Considering these and other reasons, parents often keep their children home longer, with the average age to start early education being 1.5 to 2 years (Infofinland 2024).

In Switzerland, maternity leave begins at birth and lasts for three months, welcoming a 14-week-old baby into daycare, allowing parents a pleasant workday. Often, one parent, usually the mother, works only 20%, 40%, 60%, or 80%, meaning the baby may attend daycare just 1-2 days a week. However, in many families, this isn’t feasible, and it’s common for infants to be in daycare Monday through Friday, for example, from 7:30 AM to 6:30 PM. How does that sound?

In my experience, the intent to support families during the transition to daycare is similar in both Switzerland and Finland. The goal is to make this new situation as smooth and positive as possible for both the child and the parents.

Length of the Daycare Day – How Much Can a Child Handle?

In the collaborative effort between parents and daycare educators, the length of a child’s care day is often discussed, with parents’ work lives setting certain limits. It’s not uncommon for a child’s care day to be longer than a parent’s workday. As educators, we observe the child's stamina throughout the day and strive to eliminate factors that unnecessarily burden them.

In Switzerland, the daily work hours are longer than in Finland, often around 9.5 hours, which also extends the length of children’s daycare days. At my workplace in Switzerland, the typical drop-off time was between 7:30 and 8:00 AM, with pick-up starting no earlier than 5 PM. For many children, the day extends until around 6 PM, and some stay even longer. Therefore, daycare days almost invariably reach ten hours. From a Finnish perspective, these days seem quite long. However, it’s important to note that many children only attend daycare 2-4 days a week, allowing for more full days to recover.

During these long daycare days, it is especially important for adults to provide children with small moments to recharge, as well as ample time for free play and relaxation. Even if a child can manage long daycare hours, the time spent at home with parents is inevitably limited on those days.

Outdoor Activities – The Ultimate Tool for Imagination, Freedom, and Energy Release

At Kamukoti, as in most Finnish daycare centers, we aim to be outside daily. Outdoor play is a key part of our planned pedagogy, regularly utilizing the local environment for learning. Playing outdoors provides essential moments for recharging, allowing for more noise, movement, and self-expression. Being in nature calms the nervous system and supports immune function and sensory development. Motor skills and the gut microbiome develop hand in hand during outdoor time.

In Switzerland, however, daycare centers often lack the luxury of private yards. If they are fortunate enough to have an outdoor area, it’s typically a paved or rocky courtyard associated with an apartment building. Groups do attempt to go outside daily, but the opportunities for free, creative, and exploratory play are limited by the environment.

Seasonal factors greatly impact outdoor activities. Switzerland’s mild winters, which might feel like perfect spring weather to a Finn, don’t seem to encourage local educators to take children outside. Even later in spring, outdoor time in the afternoons often gets skipped unless temperatures reach +25°C. One can only imagine what a 7:30 AM to 6 PM daycare day feels like for a child when outdoor time is capped at one hour. Often, outdoor activities consist of walking around the neighborhood, providing fresh air and some movement, but they fall short of enabling diverse motor learning, imaginative play, and social skill development.

We truly have reason to be grateful for our expansive gardens, yards, and forests surrounding our daycare centers.

Pedagogy – What is Learned, How, and Why

The four core pillars of Kamukoti's pedagogy are strength-based pedagogy, interaction, environmental education, and the joy and creativity of learning. In my experience, Finnish pedagogy particularly emphasizes enhancing interaction, emotional, and play skills. A key role of early childhood education is to strengthen social competencies with peers, supporting children in navigating different situations and embracing diversity. The importance of free play is highlighted, with adults observing and guiding to meet individual needs, ensuring everyone feels part of the group.

In contrast, my experience in Switzerland showed a greater focus on a) basic care, especially with younger children, and b) cognitive learning in larger groups. While play was certainly a significant part of the day, attention and praise were more often directed toward learning letters or memorization, with less emphasis on developing play and interaction skills or supporting the formation of social relationships.

At Kamukoti, We Focus On:

Strength-based pedagogy
Community-oriented and inclusive interaction
Environmental education
The joy and creativity of learning

The Cost – Subjective Right or Privilege for the Wealthy?

Swiss early childhood education can be divided into two parts compared to Finland: daycare and preschool. Most daycare centers are private, requiring families to cover costs themselves, while preschool (kindergarten) is a right for all children.

As mentioned earlier, many families have one parent working only 20-80% of full time due to high childcare fees. This often leads to the decision for one parent to stay home, as it's more financially viable. To ensure children can socialize with peers while keeping one parent somewhat connected to the workforce, families frequently opt to pay for 1-3 days of daycare and manage the rest at home. From discussions with families in various cities, I estimate that a couple of days of daycare costs around €1,200-€2,200 per month.

In Finland, much of early childhood education is organized by municipalities. Private daycare centers provide additional support to municipalities and options for families, often aided by municipal vouchers or private care support from Kela. While childcare fees can be burdensome for many families, I can genuinely say that at Kamukoti, the investment yields motivated, warm, flexible, community-oriented, and individualized education that develops a diverse range of skills.

Early Childhood Education Participation Rates

In Finland nearly 90%
In Switzerland about 50%.

So, back to the question: Can we still be satisfied with the quality of Finnish early childhood education? Yes, I certainly am. I appreciate the quality and mentality, the equity, the diverse qualifications of educators, and the special pedagogical expertise.

Can we learn from others? Absolutely. In Switzerland, I was reminded that there are many ways to do things, yet still produce a happy child walking into daycare with a smile in the morning.

Originally in Finnish. Translated by ChatGPT.