Study title

Finnish Local Government 2004: Child Day Care 2003: Day Nurseries

Dataset ID Number

FSD2168

Persistent identifiers

https://urn.fi/urn:nbn:fi:fsd:T-FSD2168
https://doi.org/10.60686/t-fsd2168

Data Type

Quantitative

Authors

• Ikola-Norrbacka, Rinna (University of Vaasa. Department of Public Management)

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-minders.

The respondents were asked how many children there were in their day care centres, and how the children were divided in terms of the type of day care (e.g. full day care, sessional day care). The number of employees in the day nurseries and their tasks were queried, as well as the number of employees hired with the help of employment subsidies In addition, the capacity and utilisation rate of municipal day care places were studied. The respondents were also asked whether the nurseries provided any day care service based on educational philosophies, such as Steiner education. Some questions pertained to the current ownership and opening hours of the day nurseries. Opinions on day care facilities were charted, as well as how special needs provision (e.g. for physically disabled children) was taken into account in selecting the day nursery staff. The respondents were also asked how many children received free day care, and how many paid the highest fees.

In relation to service provision, the respondents were asked about competitive tendering, their satisfaction with services, and which body decided on matters such as using outsourced services. Further questions covered management and decision-making on child day care in the municipality. The respondents were also asked to assess the importance of different tasks and leadership roles in their work, and whether the significance of them had changed over the past few years. Opinions on the quality and importance of municipal day care and the use of client surveys were also examined. Finally, the development of day care services since 1999, the present state, and development policies for the future were surveyed.

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

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

Topic Classification

• Social sciences (Fields of Science Classification)
• Government, political systems and organisations (CESSDA Topic Classification)
• Specific social services: use and availability (CESSDA Topic Classification)
• Social welfare systems/structures (CESSDA Topic Classification)

Series

Finnish Local Government 2004

Distributor

Finnish Social Science Data Archive

Access

The dataset is (B) available for research, teaching and study.

Data Collector

• Ikola-Norrbacka, Rinna (University of Vaasa. Department of Public Management)

Data Producers

• Association of Finnish Local and Regional Authorities

Time Period Covered

2003

Collection Dates

2003-02-13 – 2003-10

Nation

Finland

Geographical Coverage

Finland

Analysis/Observation Unit Type

Political-administrative area (Municipality)

Universe

Finnish municipalities (excluding the Åland Islands)

Time Method

Longitudinal: Trend/Repeated cross-section

Sampling Procedure

Probability: Multistage

Two-stage stratified sampling in selecting project municipalities.

The project municipalities were selected separately from those with less than 10,000 inhabitants (28 municipalities) and from those with more than 10,000 inhabitants (19 municipalities). The selection aimed to be representative within both groups in relation to all municipalities with the same population size. Large municipalities were over-represented because 70% of the Finnish population lives in large municipalities. Representativeness criteria included regional location, age and education of the population, industry structure, municipal economy parameters, political situation and variables related to municipal policy. The selected municipalities form a small scale model of all Finnish municipalities. The Åland Islands municipalities were excluded because of special features resulting from Åland's autonomy.

The questionnaire was sent to managers of municipal and private day nurseries in the selected municipalities (N=601). After three reminder letters, 356 of them responded.

Collection Mode

Self-administered questionnaire: Paper

Research Instrument

Structured questionnaire

Response Rate

59

Data File Language

Downloaded data package may contain different language versions of the same files.

The data files of this dataset are available in the following languages: Finnish.

FSD translates quantitative data into English on request, free of charge. More information on ordering data translation.

Data Version

2.0

Related Datasets

FSD2161 Finnish Local Government 2004: Child Day Care 1997: Service Directors

FSD2162 Finnish Local Government 2004: Child Day Care 1997: Day Nurseries

FSD2163 Finnish Local Government 2004: Child Day Care 1997: Child-Minding

FSD2164 Finnish Local Government 2004: Child Day Care 1999: Service Directors

FSD2165 Finnish Local Government 2004: Child Day Care 1999: Day Nurseries

FSD2166 Finnish Local Government 2004: Child Day Care 1999: Child-Minding

FSD2167 Finnish Local Government 2004: Child Day Care 2003: Service Directors

FSD2169 Finnish Local Government 2004: Child Day Care 2003: Child-Minding

Weighting

There are no weight variables in the data.

Citation Requirement

The data and its creators shall be cited in all publications and presentations for which the data have been used. The bibliographic citation may be in the form suggested by the archive or in the form required by the publication.

Bibliographical Citation

Ikola-Norrbacka, Rinna (University of Vaasa): Finnish Local Government 2004: Child Day Care 2003: Day Nurseries [dataset]. Version 2.0 (2018-07-20). Finnish Social Science Data Archive [distributor]. https://urn.fi/urn:nbn:fi:fsd:T-FSD2168

Deposit Requirement

Notify FSD of all publications where you have used the data by sending the citation information to user-services.fsd@tuni.fi.

Disclaimer

The original data creators and the archive bear no responsibility for any results or interpretations arising from the reuse of the data.

Related Materials

Ikola-Norrbacka, Rinna (2004). Päivähoito - kuntien kilpailuvaltti? Tutkimus lasten päivähoidosta vuosina 1996-2003 Helsinki: Suomen Kuntaliitto. KuntaSuomi 2004 -tutkimuksia; 46 & Acta; 165.

Related Publications

Vainikainen, Katja (2008). Työtä tänään huomisen hyväksi: tutkimus päiväkodin johtajien näkemyksistä päivähoidon nykytilasta ja tulevaisuudesta. Turku: Turun yliopisto. Sosiaalipolitiikan pro gradu -tutkielma.

Ikola-Norrbacka, Rinna (2004). Päivähoito - kuntien kilpailuvaltti? Tutkimus lasten päivähoidosta vuosina 1996-2003. Helsinki: Suomen Kuntaliitto. KuntaSuomi 2004 -tutkimuksia; 46 & Acta; 165.