2. Pärnu 10.9.2013
Anna-Riitta Mäkitalo, senior lecturer and
Titta Hakala, student
Helsinki Metropolia University of Applied Sciences;
Degree Programme of Social Services
Riitta Vähä-Savo, kindergartenteacher
City of Helsinki; the Department of Early Childhood
Education; Kindergarten Meripirtti
3. 1) The field placement as a learning
enviroment both from a student´s and
children´s point of view
Cooperation with Kindergarten Meripirtti
The shared points of interests in:
4. 2) The partnership in early childhood
education as a method in client-
centered work (parents as a client)
3) The elements, that the mentor
should focus when supervising
students to client-centered work
The shared points of interests (2)
5. The field placement as a learning enviroment
both from a student´s and child´s perspective
Background:
• Child group: five boys aged 3 to 4 ; six group meetings
• The aim of these activities was a one hour-long positive
reinforcement with the emphasis on play sessions
• Throughout the process, the content and progress was
discussed with the parents
• The child’s personal kindergarten teacher and the
educational community later utilized the observations of
the children in
parent discussions
6. Activities:
Participation: through interviewing children, we were looking for
children's interests to use in the playing activities
Children's zones of proximal development were found in interaction with the
children and observing them whilst working.
Games were played which corresponded to children's interests and
contributed to the children's personal development
During and after the individual activities, Children gave feedback on the
activities, which then affected the activity.
7. Learning Outcomes:
Childrens’ Point of View
• The participation of children
increased
• The childrens’ self-esteem grew
• Children begun taking initiatives more
frequently
8. Learning Outcomes: Students´Point of View
• The reciprocity of mentoring developd reflection skills
• The participation in producing of mutual understanding
was strengthened
student
supervisor
child
• Students have learned to justify pedagogigally
their activities
• Students cooperation skills are strengthened
Educational
community PARENT
9. The point of view of the Work Placement
Practice Mentor
Activities Supporting the
Participation of Parents:
• Educational partnership
– Dialogical approach
– ”Personal nursing”
– Mutual trust
• Mutual objectives
– Curriculum Guide Lines in
Early Childhood Education
– Individual ECEC plan
• Interaction happens in
many ways and on a daily
basis
• Parents´concrete
participation in the
everyday life of the
kindergarten has
increased (e.g. soft strats),
parents bring their own
knowledge for the use of
childdren
Activities Supporting
the Participation of
Children
• Consultation and
implementation of
initiatives
• Creating a culture of
open discussion
• Atmosphere
• Adults attitudes
• The opportunity help
children to attach to their
own group
• Developing discussion
skills
CLIENTSHIP IN EARLY
CHILDHOOD
EDUCATION
Activities Supporting
Student Counselling:
• More intense, mutual
reflection
• Providing feedback in
joint discussions
• The unit´s work
placement guidance has
became more uniform
• During the project
cooperation with the
educational institute
bacame more closer
10. The second work placement period pilot
”Socio-pedagogical work with clients”
( 12 credits)
Learning outcomes of the course unit:
”Student knows how to support clients’
empowerment using a client oriented
approach. They work …….”
11. • We improved the instructions for the second work
placement period
• Intructions included a new client centered learning
task
• The old tasks:
• The aims of the field practice game from the
curriculum and from student s own aims
• The theoretical bases of the study units were
connected to field placement
Development work
12. The new task
• The supervisor guides the student to find a
client to work with during his work placement.
The student gets to know the client (clients),
their life conditions, needs and dreams.
• The aims of working are defined in phases:
13. The new task (2)
Phases:
1. A student visits the field practice place and meets
its clients
2. Study assignment phase: A students focuses on
one client ( individual/ family/ group), her/his life
situation, wishes, dreams etc.
3. A student makes a plan for the field practice
together with client and focusing activities that
empower the client
14. The new task (3)
4. A field instructor approves the plan
5. The student realizes the planned activities
together with a client
6. The client evaluates the activities from a
personal point of view
15. The new task (4)
7. The student reflects what s/he has learned
from the assignment process
8. The student reports the whole process
9. The student reflects on how s/he could profit
from the theoretical basis given in the courses
before the field practice
16. Students’ experiences
• We asked 40 students about their work
placement experiences.
• The questions were:
17. Students’ experiences/ questions
• The name of your work placement, the
clients´average age.
• Estimate your interaction and interaction
processes with clients during your work
placement
• Describe the signs of empowerment that you
notice in your clients during your placement
• When thinking about your work placemant
routines, how client-centered they were. How
could you develop it?
19. Insights
• Interaction can not be planned in advance.
• Customer and employee roles are clearly
different in interactive situations
• Interaction is associated with the customer's
need for assistance
Interaction
20. Interaction (2)
• The interaction's development takes time and
is different with different clients
• The starting point is the customer's request
and that one considers the client to be the
expert of their own life
21. Interaction (3)
• A good knowledge of the customer’s culture
facilitates the interaction
• Giving room to the other is also a part of
interaction
• Bilateralism and an unhurried atmosphere help
creating the desired interaction
• Encounters should be set frames.
22. Empowerment
Insights:
• Work is carried out according to the customer's
terms and in relation to the customer to express
their need for help
• In the beginning, it is difficult to understand the
client's need for help
• The signs of empowerment vary from another in
different places and at different customer groups
23. Empowerment (2)
Signs of empowerment have included:
• Increased participation
• Discovery of our own life situation
• The interest in one's own affairs and taking care of
them increases
• Improvement in hygiene and taking care of one’s
own belongings
• The development of a sense of time,
• Understanding the value of money
• The participation in groups
25. Experiences on Work Practice Placement
• Customer-oriented work placement orientation
was inspiring and the students learned a lot
• The diversity of social work came up
• Students realized the importance of discussions
• The tasks were good, although the teachers still
had different interpretations of the task
• Working communities received students very well
received and supported them
26. Metropolia team
Kaija Matinheikki-Kokko, Merja Reijonen, Kirsi
Lautala, Anna-Riitta Mäkitalo, Titta Hakala,Tiina
Huotari,and Aleksandra Meyer
Partners in cooperation:
• Kindergarten Meripirtti: Riitta Vähä-Savo
• Vantaa Social Office: Viktoria Matikainen and
Teija Hakulinen
