Marketization and privatization of early childhood education and care in Finland : shifts within and from universalism

Abstract

In Finland, the early childhood education and care (ECEC) system has been based on the idea of universalism. Universalism has meant, for example, families’ universal entitlement to ECEC and public sector responsibility for ECEC provision. However, since the late 1990s, the Finnish ECEC system has seen increasing marketization and privatization. Many municipalities have started to support private, non-profit and for-profit ECEC provision. As a result, especially during the 2010s, the share of private provision has increased somewhat rapidly. At the same time, municipalities have started to provide demand-side subsidies for families to enable their ECEC selection. Thus, the ECEC system has become increasingly shaped by market logic. Earlier research indicates that the marketization and privatization of ECEC has a great risk of exacerbating social inequalities. However, most of this research considers national contexts that are very different from the Finnish one. The aim of this study is to increase understanding about the relationship between ideas of universalism and market logic in the context of Finnish ECEC. More specifically, it examines whether the marketization and privatization of ECEC indicate a shift from universalism or within universalism. To do so, this study draws on the theory of discursive institutionalism (DI) developed by Vivien Schmidt. DI takes a dynamic stance towards institutional change and emphasizes the explanatory power of ideas and discourse. Moreover, to create deeper understanding about the phenomenon of interest, a mixed-method approach is applied. The qualitative sections of the research draw on the interview data of municipal decision-makers (N = 47) and representatives of private providers (N = 12). The quantitative section employs survey data of parents of four-year-old children (N = 1,416). The results indicate that intertwinement of universalism and market logic in the institution of Finnish ECEC entails features that can be interpreted as shifts within universalism, but also from universalism. The study concludes by arguing that the marketization and privatization of ECEC change the core values of the ECEC institution by replacing some of universalism’s values with neoliberal ideas about freedom of choice, individual responsibility and economic effectivity. Intensifying market logic in the field of ECEC has the potential to extend educational and social differentiation into early childhood as well.