Authors

• Heikkinen, Erja (University of Vaasa. Faculty of Public Administration)

Keywords

child day care, child-minders, child-minding, children, community development, day nurseries, local community facilities, local government, local government officers, local government policy, local government services, pre-primary education, pre-primary schools, preschool children, public services, social systems, subcontracting

Abstract

The survey focused on the practicalities, service provision, administration, and development of child day care services in Finnish municipalities. Municipal day nurseries mind children aged under seven. The respondents were managers of either municipal or private day nurseries. Similar surveys were carried out in 1997, 1999 and 2003, from the viewpoints of day nursery managers, municipal service directors and child-minding coordinators.

First, the respondents were asked how many children there were in their day care centres, and how the children were divided in terms of age and the type of day care (e.g. full day care, sessional day care). The respondents also assessed the reputation and popularity of their day nurseries. The number of employees in the nurseries and their tasks were queried, as well as the current expenditure and income of day care services. Some questions pertained to the current ownership, location, and opening hours of the nurseries. Opinions on day care facilities and special needs provision (e.g. for physically disabled children) were charted. There were also questions relating to service provision, competitive tendering, and satisfaction with services.

Further questions covered management and decision-making on child day care in the municipality. Views on the use of performance measures were probed. The respondents also gave their opinions on the quality and importance of municipal day care. Finally, the development of day care services since 1992 and development policies for the future were surveyed.

Background variables included the respondent's gender, mother tongue, year of birth, job title, work experience, level of education, and elective offices.