This dissertation represents the reflections of Bronfenbrenner’s ecological model (1994) in early childhood education. Based on the prior research indicating the importance of the relationship between home and school on mesosystem level, current study shows the interrelationship between mesosystem, exosystem and macrosystem as well. According to the findings of this research, the complex interrelationships between the nesting systems are observed, in which the home-
school relationship is not limited to these two mesosytems but instead also shaped by both macro- and exosystem.
the reflections of Bronfenbrenner’s ecological model (1994) in early childhood education. Based on the prior research indicating the importance of the relation- ship between home and school on mesosystem level, current study shows the interrelationship between mesosystem, exosystem and macrosystem as well. Ac- cording to the findings of this research, the complex interrelationships between the nesting systems are observed, in which the home-school relationship is not limited to these two mesosytems but instead also shaped by both macro- and ex- osystem.
Besides the of Bronfenbrenner’s ecological model, this research was partially structured based on Epstein’s OSoI model, from which four types of PI types (communication, learning at home, volunteering and decision-making) were cho- sen to build the research items around. According to the findings, the PI types taken from Epstein’s model were supported in the early childhood education field as well as in Turkish and Finnish context, except for the communication as PI type, which had issues in Finnish context. Even though individually taken in hand, the items regarding the use of communication as a PI type would shed light on the Finnish educators PI practices; the items as a single factor addressing these practices did not fit in the Finnish context. The reason for this issue might be the communicative traditions of the Finnish society and their preferences of communication methods. As also evident from the findings of this study, Finnish early childhood educators choose face-to-face communication to inform and in- volve parents, likewise, Finnish primary school teachers (Hirsto, 2010), which occurs in unofficial encounters during pick-up and drop-off (Venninen & Purola 2013). This trend seems to support Onnismaa’s (2001) claim that day care con- siders the home and the day care as two unrelated contexts regarding their priva- cy; therefore the official meetings for communication practices are reserved for the times when something needs to be addressed specifically.
In addition to supporting and validating the theory itself, this study also falls in line with the challenges Epstein (2016) proposes in PI practices, which are listed separately for each type of PI. However, in this dissertation, it is revealed that those challenges often overlap among different types of PI rather than being spe- cific to one type. For instance, the language barrier is not only a challenge for communication but also for volunteering and decision-making, since communi- cation is the basis of any interaction. When looked at in a broader perspective, on the other hand, the results of this study align well with the previous literature re- viewed by Morris and Taylor (1997) regarding PI. In their literature review, bar- riers to sufficient PI practices were collected under three main groups: limited
skills and knowledge, restricted opportunities, and psychological and cultural barriers. This similarity constitutes another proof for the gap between rhetoric and practice regarding PI since, for the past three decades, although the challeng- es of PI practices have been documented by the research, these challenges are still evident today in early childhood educators’ practice.
Due to its comparative aspect, this research also presents some theoretical impli- cations regarding the discussion of world culture vs. local culture. In today’s world, globalisation is often brought up, sometimes as something to be afraid of and sometimes something to be excited about (Dale, 2000); however, one thing that seems to be certain is that societies are growing more similar and are follow- ing similar trends. Naturally, education systems receive their fair share of this discussion because, depending on the national economy trajectories, policymak- ers and policy actors direct their attention to educational systems to improve the state of affairs (Dale, 2000). Due to their centrality, it is safe to claim that educa- tion systems are revised not only to best fit national needs but also to respond to international developments (Akboga, 2016). As discussed in earlier sections of this work, there are two schools of thought to explain the dominant actor in these changes: the world and local culture explanations.
In the Turkish and Finnish contexts investigated in this dissertation, the effects of world culture are quite visible regarding early childhood educators’ views and practice of PI. There is quite a positive view of PI in international research af- firming its benefits. Such positive views are possibly formed by professional training and educational policies, which are shaped by the outcomes of interna- tional research and the stances of policy actors and policymakers. All in all, con- sidering that PI is mentioned and strongly encouraged in policy documents of both of these countries, regardless of their economic state, geographic position, political stance, or governance of ECEC, there is a strong indication of the pene- tration of world culture, which might be claimed to be a process that has been going on since long before recent trends resulting from internationalism or glob- alization.
These two countries are connected to each other through the OECD, which is a powerful policy actor in the field of education. However, world culture explana- tions claim that this cultural convergence spreads from the dominant cultures, such as the currently dominant Western culture (Dale, 2000). Through deeper investigation, this dissertation reveals that Turkish early childhood educators are more accustomed to PI practices, while Finnish educators experience significant- ly more issues, according to their self-reported answers based on their percep- tions. This leads to the conclusion that world culture is implemented rather local- ly in these contexts and shaped by their traditional cultures and societal beliefs
and values. Similarly, Steiner-Khamsi (2012) reported findings from a Mongoli- an example in which global policies were adopted and adapted to local culture. In conclusion, while evidence of world culture is found in Turkey and Finland, the way those trends are implemented is bound to local variables and the social cul- tures of these countries individually (Akboga, 2016). This also proves that PI is more of a fluid concept which requires different approaches for different parents, different neighbourhoods, different ethnicities, and different cultures. It is unrea- sonable to impose PI practices on every individual based on a Western mindset without considering what others’ values are.