Implementing multilingual pedagogy in Finnish ECEC groups : from monolingual practices towards more systematic approaches

This is a sel -a chi ed e sion o an o iginal a icle. This e sion may di e om he o iginal in pagina ion and ypog aphic de ails. Au ho (s): Ti le: Yea : Ve sion: Copy igh : Righ s: Righ s u l: Please ci e he o iginal e sion: CC BY 4.0 h ps://c ea i ecommons.o g/licenses/by/4.0/ Implemen ing mul ilingual pedagogy in Finnish ECEC g oups : om monolingual p ac ices owa ds mo e sys ema ic app oaches © 2024 The Au ho (s). Published by In o ma UK Limi ed, ading as Taylo & F ancis G oup Published e sion Ae ila, Juli-Anna; Ty e , Ma ia; Ha ju-Luukkainen, Heidi; Repo, Elisa; Bay am, Siddik Ae ila, J.-A., Ty e , M., Ha ju-Luukkainen, H., Repo, E., & Bay am, S. (2024). Implemen ing mul ilingual pedagogy in Finnish ECEC g oups : om monolingual p ac ices owa ds mo e sys ema ic app oaches. In e na ional Jou nal o Mul ilingualism, Ea ly online. h ps://doi.o g/10.1080/14790718.2024.2418862 2024 In e na ional Jou nal o Mul ilingualism ISSN: (P in ) (Online) Jou nal homepage: www. and online.com/jou nals/ mjm20 Implemen ing mul ilingual pedagogy in Finnish ECEC g oups – om monolingual p ac ices owa ds mo e sys ema ic app oaches Juli-Anna Ae ila, Ma ia Ty e , Heidi Ha ju-Luukkainen, Elisa Repo & Siddik Bay am To ci e his a icle: Juli-Anna Ae ila, Ma ia Ty e , Heidi Ha ju-Luukkainen, Elisa Repo & Siddik Bay am (06 No 2024): Implemen ing mul ilingual pedagogy in Finnish ECEC g oups – om monolingual p ac ices owa ds mo e sys ema ic app oaches, In e na ional Jou nal o Mul ilingualism, DOI: 10.1080/14790718.2024.2418862 To link o his a icle: h ps://doi.o g/10.1080/14790718.2024.2418862 © 2024 The Au ho (s). Published by In o ma UK Limi ed, ading as Taylo & F ancis G oup Published online: 06 No 2024. Submi you a icle o his jou nal View ela ed a icles View C ossma k da a Full Te ms & Condi ions o access and use can be ound a h ps://www. and online.com/ac ion/jou nalIn o ma ion?jou nalCode= mjm20 Implemen ing mul ilingual pedagogy in Finnish ECEC g oups – om monolingual p ac ices owa ds mo e sys ema ic app oaches Juli-Anna Ae ila a , Ma ia Ty e b , Heidi Ha ju-Luukkainen c , Elisa Repo b and Siddik Bay am a a Depa men o Teache Educa ion, Rauma Campus, Uni e si y o Tu ku, Rauma, Finland; b Depa men o Teache Educa ion, Uni e si y o Tu ku, Tu ku, Finland; c Depa men o Teache Educa ion, Uni e si y o Jy äskylä, Jy äskylä, Finland ABSTRACT The s udy explo es he implemen a ion o mul ilingual pedagogy in Finnish ea ly childhood educa ion and ca e (ECEC) se ings. U ilising he LangPeda assessmen ool, da a we e collec ed om 82 ECEC g oups ac oss 47 cen es. A quali a i e con en analysis was conduc ed o e alua e he pedagogical ac i i ies. Findings e eal ha while sys ema ic mul ilingual pedagogy can be implemen ed i espec i e o child en’s ages o he p opo ion o mul ilingual child en, only 10 pe cen o he g oups p ac iced i sys ema ically. Many ECEC pe sonnel showed na ow engagemen wi h mul ilingual ac i i ies, o en due o a lack o knowledge and con idence in suppo ing languages o he han he ins i u ion’s p ima y language, o English. Key ea u es in luencing he implemen a ion o mul ilingual pedagogy include pe spec i e o languages, pa en al engagemen , he use o di e se languages, and mul ilingual ac i i ies. The esea ch emphasises he impo ance o pedagogical choices and a i udes in c ea ing suppo i e mul ilingual lea ning en i onmen s, unde sco ing he po en ial bene i s o mul ilingual p ac ices o all child en. Despi e he language policies, he s udy inds ha many educa o s a e no adequa ely p epa ed o implemen hese ac i i ies, o en equi ing sel - e lec ion and adap a ion o hei eaching me hods. The esul s unde line he signi icance o suppo ing ECEC pe sonnel h ough aining and esou ces o mee he challenges o a linguis ically di e se popula ion. ARTICLE HISTORY Recei ed 14 Decembe 2022 Accep ed 15 Oc obe 2024 KEYWORDS Ea ly childhood educa ion; language-awa e pedagogy; mul ilingual pedagogy; mul ilingual educa ion; home languages 1. In oduc ion The g ow h in he mul ilingual popula ion has inc eased he need o coun ies o e ise hei language policies owa ds mul ilingual educa ion. In Finland, which se es as he con ex o his s udy, he e has been an inc ease o languages spoken alongside he © 2024 The Au ho (s). Published by In o ma UK Limi ed, ading as Taylo & F ancis G oup This is an Open Access a icle dis ibu ed unde he e ms o he C ea i e Commons A ibu ion License (h p://c ea i ecommons.o g/ licenses/by/4.0/), which pe mi s un es ic ed use, dis ibu ion, and ep oduc ion in any medium, p o ided he o iginal wo k is p ope ly ci ed. The e ms on which his a icle has been published allow he pos ing o he Accep ed Manusc ip in a eposi o y by he au ho (s) o wi h hei consen . CONTACT Juli-Anna Ae ila [email p o ec ed] Depa men o Teache Educa ion, Rauma Campus, Uni e si y o Tu ku, Seminaa inka u 1, 26100 Rauma, Finland INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MULTILINGUALISM h ps://doi.o g/10.1080/14790718.2024.2418862 inc ease o immig a ion (Minis y o Employmen and he Economy, 2022). Cu en ly, he popula ion g ow h in Finland is due o immig a ion (S a is ics Finland, 2023), and he numbe o mul ilingual child en (ages 0–6) has inc eased om unde 9000 child en (yea 2000) o o e 35,000 child en (yea 2018) (S a is ics Finland, 2019). Since 2018, he na ional co e cu iculum o ea ly childhood educa ion and ca e (ECEC) in Finland (The Finnish Na ional Agency o Educa ion and Ca e, 2022) has acknowledged he inc ease o mul ilingual popula ion by con aining he aim o suppo ing he de elopmen o child en’s linguis ic epe oi es, hei linguis ic iden i ies, and cu iosi y abou languages, ex s, and cul u e. This is in line wi h he policy ecommenda ions a Eu opean le el, as well as he Uni ed Na ions (UN) Con en ion on he Righ s o he Child which bo h s i e a language lea ning om a young age and p omo ion o mul ilingual educa ion in ECEC (Be ge on-Mo in e al., 2023). To mee he challenges o mul ilingualism in Finland o o he coun ies, pe sonnel in ECECa e equi ed o pay a en ion o he cen ali y o languages and mul ilingual peda- gogy. This emphasises he ac i e esponsibili y o he educa o o he language lea ne s’ lea ning p ocesses (Alisaa i & Heikkola, 2020; Ha ju-Au i e al., 2022), and o unde s and- ing how o ac pedagogically o suppo each child’s language skills (Lucas & Villegas, 2013). Howe e , i seems ha he pe sonnel in ECECdo no always ha e su icien means o implemen a success ul mul ilingual pedagogy, and hey may e en be un ami- lia wi h he concep o language awa eness, o mul ilingual pedagogy (Aal o, 2019; Ali- saa i e al., 2019; Lah i e al., 2020). Acco ding o Pon ie e al. (2020), he e is a need o esea ch a ge ing ECEC con ex s o enhance he unde s anding o enac men s o dynamic bilingualism and mul ilingualism, as well as hei u ili y in p ac ice and peda- gogy. Fo example, in Finland, he e is s ill a limi ed numbe o s udies looking a he mul- ilingual pedagogy h ough he lenses o he ECEC pe sonnel. F om hese p emises, he s udy explo es he cu en ly implemen ed mul ilingual ac i i- ies in Finnish ECEC con ex . The da a o his a icle is a pa o he Assessmen o Language-Awa e En i onmen s in ECEC (KOAVA in Finnish) s udy (Ha ju-Luukkainen e al., 2022), in es iga ing he language-awa e and mul ilingual pedagogy in Finnish ECEC g oups using he LangPeda ool (De eloping Language-awa e Pedagogy in Ea ly Childhood Educa ion and Ca e). LangPeda ool is designed o guide ECEC pe sonnel in p omo ing and assessing hei language-awa e wo king en i onmen , mul ilingualism in he pedagogy, and Finnish as a second language p ac ices in ECEC g oups. The ool consis s o h ee assessmen o ms: (1) assessing he language-awa e lea ning en i on- men , (2) examining he linguis ic en i onmen o a mul ilingual child in coope a ion wi h he gua dians, and (3) moni o ing he de elopmen o Finnish language p o iciency o a mul ilingual child. The o ms con ain se s o s a emen s ha guide ECEC pe sonnel o examine and epo he s a us o mul ilingual ac i i ies and o ien a ions, aiming a p o id- ing ECEC cen es wi h conc e e in o ma ion on how o imp o e hei pedagogy u he . This LangPeda ool has been pilo ed in municipali ies a ound Finland (see he KOAVA e- po , Ha ju-Luukkainen e al., 2022). Fo his s udy, he da a we e collec ed om 81 ECEC eams a ound Finland using he i s o m o he LangPeda. The da a collec ion was implemen ed as pa o a uni e si y- le el in-se ice aining cou se and he membe s o he aining ac ed as esea ch assis - an s. The ea e , he da a was analysed ia da a-d i en quali a i e con en analysis (K ip- pendo , 2012). 2 J.-A. AERILA ET AL. Two esea ch ques ions guide his s udy: 1. How do ECEC eams desc ibe he mul ilingual ac i i ies hey ake owa ds implemen - ing mul ilingual pedagogy and wha kind o mul ilingual pedagogy hese ac i i ies illus a e? 2. How do he ac i i ies o mul ilingual pedagogy a y ac oss di e en age g oups and mul ilingual g oups in Finnish ECEC se ings? 2. O ien a ions owa ds mul ilingual pedagogy Child en om mul ilingual amilies b ing ichness o he ECEC g oups as hei ull language epe oi e suppo s child en’ sholis ic de elopmen , and he lea ning expe i- ences o he o he child en (Be ge on-Mo in e al., 2023). S udies on mul i- and bilingual p og ammes ha e shown ha e ec i e mul ilingual pedagogy o e child en cogni i e ad an ages o e monolingual pedagogy (Bialys ok, 2018), and child en wi h speci ic chal- lenges (socio-economic, linguis ic, de elopmen al, and lea ning) expe ience no ex a bu den om mul ilingual pedagogy (Kohne & Danahy, 2007). In gene al, mul ilingual pedagogy seems o lead o good esul s o bo h mino i y and majo i y child en (Ki sch e al., 2020). The concep o pedagogy in ECEC co e s p ac ice, eaching o ien a ion, o ganisa ion o he lea ning en i onmen , and he ope a ional cul u e, and i is all shaped in he sociocul- u al con ex (Kangas e al., 2021). Fu he , i is connec ed wi h his o ic, poli ical, and socie al ac o s o he educa ion con ex in ques ion (Ha ju-Luukkainen e al., 2021). Acco ding o Kangas e al. (2021), adi ionally, ECEC pedagogy is iewed as a ool be ween he ou comes de ined in he cu icula and o he guiding documen s and chil- d en’s lea ning. Howe e , pedagogy as a concep can also be di ided in o unde pinning ‘ca ego ies’ ( an Oe s, 2008) ha a e conside ed cen al elemen s o pedagogy. These a e, o example, in e ac ion and ca e, suppo ing and sca olding, eaching and con en - o ien ed lea ning, and eache s’ and policymake s’ expe ise in unde s anding and ans- o ming goals behind he cu iculum (see Ha ju-Luukkainen e al., 2021; Kangas e al., 2021). Mul ilingual pedagogy is connec ed o all he abo e-men ioned cen al elemen s o pedagogy and he e o e mul ilingualism a ec s he en i e ECEC g oup and many o i s unc ions (Ki sch e al., 2020). Acco ding o Ki sch e al. (2020) and Alisaa i e al. (2019), he language pedagogies in ECEC g oups a e s ill qui e monolingual, hey concen a e on he o icial languages o he coun ies, and he in e es in p omo ing home languages is ela i ely low o es ic ed o ee play. This indica es ha mul ilingual pedagogy is conside ed challenging by he pe - sonnel in ECEC. This is no su p ising as in o de o p omo e mul ilingual pedagogy ECEC pe sonnel mus possess complex knowledge, skills and compe ences, as well as a deep unde s anding o child de elopmen and ea ly childhood pedagogy om he pe spec i e o mul ilingualism. (Be ge on-Mo in e al., 2023; see also Ki sch, 2021) In a s udy by No heim and Mose (2020) he challenges in mul ilingual ECEC g oups seemed o concen- a e on language, asymme ical powe ela ions and cul u al di e ences o disag ee- men s. I is sa e o say ha he e is a ecognised need o in-se ice aining, eadily a ailable educa ional packages, inc eased and imp o ed esou ces, and esea ch-based in o ma ion pe aining o mul ilingual pedagogy (Ha ju-Au i e al., 2022). INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MULTILINGUALISM 3 Mul ilingual pedagogy acknowledges child en’s linguis ic epe o ies and makes isible he di e en his o ies, iden i ies, he i ages, and ideologies o mul ilingual chil- d en and amilies (Ga cía & Wei, 2014), ecognising he language esou ces o e e y child (Ga cía & Hesson, 2015). In mul ilingual g oups, a linguis ically and cul u ally sensi i e lea ning en i onmen inc eases he linguis ic inpu and encou ages mul ilin- gual child en o in e ac (Ki sch, 2021). A sensi i e lea ning en i onmen whe e i is possible o implemen mul ilingual pedagogy o en equi es employing bilingual s a , using ansla o s, ansla ing ma e ials in o di e en amily languages, ans- languaging as well as aking ime and showing pa ience and espec o child en and hei amilies (No heim & Mose , 2020). Only hen can mul ilingual pedagogy be p esen in e e yday ac i i ies. In gene al, mul ilingual pedagogy is implemen ed in isual ma e ials, body language o ges u es, one o oice, ou ines, and epe i ion in a ious o ms (Ha ju-Luukkainen e al., 2019). O he s udies (e.g. Ha ju-Luukkainen, 2013a; 2013b; Koi ula, 2021; Sa ijä i, 2011) ha e shown ha mul ilingual pedagogy usually consis s o ac i i ie ssuch as songs, hymes, and con e sa ions wi h eache s and pee s. Acco ding o Ki sch e al. (2020) and Pon ie e al. (2020) many ECEC ea- che s na u ally suppo mul ilingualism by using hei en i e semio ic epe oi e o mimes, ges u es, pos u es, and in ona ion o communica e and make meaning (Ki sch e al., 2020). One impo an elemen o mul ilingual pedagogy is ecip ocal ela ionships wi h gua - dians (pa en s o o he ca e ake s)(Rami ez, 2023). Acco ding o Chan and Ri chie (2016) and Chea ham and San os (2011), coope a ion wi h gua dians is o en neglec ed, and pedagogy is domina ed by ECEC pe sonnel’s ac i i ies. Howe e , coope a ion wi h he gua dians o mino i y language builds on child en’s linguis ic s eng hs’ while simul- aneously highligh ing how di e se languages and mul ilingual iden i ies a e espec ed and alued (Ga cía & Wei, 2014; Rami ez, 2023). Acco ding o Ga cía and Klei gen (2010), pedagogy ha ocuses on connec ing he language ac i i ies o amilies o he ac i i ies o he ECEC ins i u ion is ans o ma i e. Language policies – such as he na ional co e cu iculum o ECEC in Finland – do no ansla e in o ac i i ies and pedagogy wi hou educa o s who a e able o eshape hei o ien a ions owa ds language policy implemen a ion (see, o example, Ho nbe ge & Johnson, 2007; Repo e al., 2024). Ruiz´s (1984) amewo k o language policy implemen- a ion illus a es how language policies and he ole o language can be in e p e ed in pedagogy by he ECEC pe sonnel (de Jong e al., 2016; Ha ju-Luukkainen, 2022; Macías, 2016). Ruiz’s amewo k (1984) consis s o h ee ypes o o ien a ions o language policies: (1) language as igh , (2) language as a esou ce, and (3) language as p oblem. Language as a igh o ien a ion e e s o one’s own language and cul u e as undamen al human igh s. This means ha indi iduals ha e he igh o speak, p ese e hei home languages, and be p o ec ed agains disc imina ion based on hei language. Language as a esou ce e e s o mul ilingualism and cul u al di e si y as alued esou ces o indi- iduals and socie y. Language as a p oblem e e s o he assump ion ha bilingual and mul ilingual child en a e slowe o lea n, a e con used wi h languages, and ha new languages a e a bu den on hei b ains. Fo example, he language policy in Finnish ECEC ( he Na ional Cu iculum o Ea ly Childhood Educa ion and Ca e in Finland) high- ligh s language as a igh and esou ce o ien a ion (The Finnish Na ional Agency o Edu- ca ion and Ca e 2022). 4 J.-A. AERILA ET AL. 3. Da a and me hods This s udy used anassis ed design esea ch me hod (see McKenney e al., 2006; Repo, 2023; S ephan, 2014). The da a we e collec ed be ween Oc obe and No embe 2021 om 81 ECEC eams, including 239 membe s o pe sonnel (in Finnish ECEC, a eam con- sis s o 1–2 eache s and 2 nu ses) om 13 municipali ies and 47 ECE cen es om ac oss Finland. All he g oups pa icipa ing in his s udy used Finnish as hei o icial language. Fu he in he s udy, immig an -backg ound mul ilingual Finnish language lea ne s a e e e ed o as ‘mul ilingual child en’, which means ha hese child en speak o he languages han he majo i y popula ion as hei i s language(s). The concep ‘mul ilin- gual child en’ was chosen as i p o ides a posi i e desc ip o o wha child en ‘can do, a he han wha hey canno do ye ’ wi h hei linguis ic abili ies (Pe umal e al., 2020, p. 53). The da a o his s udy consis ed o ex ual documen s om ECEC eams, in which hey illus a ed hei mul ilingual ac i i ies and pedagogy in he child g oup. Addi ionally, he da a consis ed o in o ma ion (p o ided by he eams) abou child en’s ages in he g oups and an es ima ion o he p opo ion o mul ilingual child en in he g oup. In he s udy, he mul ilingual child en used a leas one o he language in hei e e yday li e alongside Finnish, bu se e al child en had mo e languages in hei epe oi es. Besides he o icial languages o Finland (Finnish, Swedish, o Sami), ECEC g oups in his s udy had linguis ic esou ces in Albanian, A abic, English, Es onian, Fa si, F ench, Ge man, Ku dish, Mandinka, Russian, sign language, and Spanish. The backg ound da a a e p e- sen ed in de ail in Table 1. The s udy was conduc ed in acco dance wi h he Gene al Da a P o ec ion Regula ion (GDPR). P io o collec ing he da a, in o med consen was ob ained om he municipa- li ies and om all pa icipan s. Pa icipa ion in his s udy was olun a y, and he pa ici- pan s we e allowed o in e up hei in ol emen a any poin . The da a was anonymised by esea ch assis an s and o ensu e anonymi y, he eams we e coded by he numbe o he g oup in he da a (1–82), he age g oup (T = oddle s, Y = young chil- d en, P = p e-schoole s, and M = mixed ages), and he p opo ion o mul ilingual child en (0–100%). Table 1. Backg ound da a epo ed by age g oup and he p opo ion o mul ilingual child en in he g oup. Pe cen o mul ilingual child en in he g oup 0–20% none o ha dly any o he child en 21–40% mino i y o he child en 41–60% app oxima ely hal o he child en 61–80% majo i y o he child en 81–100% all o almos all o he child en To al Toddle s (0–2 yea olds) 3 7 4 6 1 21 Young child en (3–5 yea olds) 9 8 10 11 4 42 P eschoole s (6 yea olds) 3 6 2 1 3 15 Mixed ages (1–5 yea olds) 2 1 3 To al 17 21 17 18 8 81 INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MULTILINGUALISM 5 3.1. Da a collec ion and analysis The da a collec ion o his s udy was conduc ed ia LangPeda ool’s i s o m Assessing a language-awa e lea ning en i onmen using i s´ hi d s a emen : The pe sonnel encou age he child o use he languages hey speak in a ious si ua ions (Ha ju-Luukkainen e al., 2020; KieKu webpage, n.d.). The da a collec ion was implemen ed by esea ch assis an s who we e ained o he ask. They collec ed he da a om di e en municipali ies ac oss Finland and assis ed he local eams in hei discussions while illing in he o ms o LangPeda. They we e guided o implemen ing he ex ual da a in he o m as well as asking p e-planned addi ional ques- ions, i needed, o keep he discussion lowing. Each discussion session las ed 1– 1.5 hou s. A de ailed explana ion o he da a collec ion p og ess is p esen ed in Figu e 1. The da a was analysed in se e al s eps ollowing he p inciples o quali a i e da a- d i en con en analysis (K ippendo , 2012; Sch eie , 2012). In he i s phase o he Figu e 1. The p og ess o he da a collec ion. 6 J.-A. AERILA ET AL. analysis, he au ho s ead he da a indi idually, and in he second phase, he indi idual in e p e a ions we e me ged. The analysis esul ed in h ee main ca ego ies: (1) mos ly monolingual pedagogy, (2) na ow mul ilingual pedagogy, and (3) sys ema ic mul ilingual pedagogy. The main ea u es o he ca ego ies we e mul ilingual ac i i ies, languages used, pa en al in ol emen and pe spec i e o languages. These ou ea u es in each ca - ego y we e hen u he in es iga ed. The ca ego y wi h he leas ea u es was named ‘mos ly monolingual pedagogy’, as i bes desc ibed he obse a ions o he implemen- a ion o mul ilingual pedagogy in hese g oups. A e con i ming he ca ego ies o mul ilingual pedagogy (RQ1), he da a was in es i- ga ed in ela ionship o he backg ound in o ma ion, ha is, he ages o he child en and he p opo ion o mul ilingual child en in he g oup (RQ2). The aim was o examine he ela ionship be ween he backg ound in o ma ion and he pedagogy implemen ed by he g oup. Fo his in es iga ion, he ages and es ima ed p opo ions o mul ilingual chil- d en we e compa ed wi h he ca ego ies o mul ilingual pedagogy. In he analysis, some quan i ica ions we e used o suppo he quali a i e analysis (K ippendo , 2012). 4. Mul ilingual ac i i ies and pedagogy implemen ed in Finnish ECEC g oups The i s esea ch ques ion was o in es iga e he ypes o mul ilingual ac i i ies and peda- gogy Finnish ECEC eams implemen ed desc ibed by he eam membe s. Ou o he 81 g oups, 24 used a mos ly monolingual pedagogy, 49 used a na ow mul ilingual peda- gogy, and 8 used a sys ema ic mul ilingual pedagogy. In he ollowing sec ions, we desc ibe he ca ego ies in de ail. The esul s o he analysis a e illus a ed and suppo ed by di ec quo a ions om he da a, he aim o which is o p o ide a ep esen a i e example o an obse a ion made. 4.1. Mos ly monolingual pedagogy Abou one- hi d o he g oups implemen ed so ew mul ilingual ac i i ies ha he peda- gogy was named mos ly monolingual pedagogy. The eams in his ca ego y had se e al a gumen s o hei pedagogical choices: hey el ha lea ning Finnish as a second language was mos impo an and ha home languages should only be used in he home en i onmen . One o he eams s a ed ha e en he child en choose no o speak hei home languages because hey know ha he pe sonnel canno comp ehend hei language: ‘The child en don’ speak o us in hei mo he ongue because hey know we don’ know i ’(51Y5). Some eams we e no awa e o he languages he child en spoke and especially in hese eams, English was used alongside Finnish. The eam explained hei use o English by emphasising ha mos child en comp ehended simplis ic English and, in some cases, using English was he only way o ha e con ac wi h he child. The pe sonnel desc ibed his simplis ic English as YouTube English, e e ing o he ac ha many child en like wa ching YouTube and lea n some English while wa ching: The e is also one child in he g oup who does no know his mo he ongue (Bas u) o Finnish, bu who has independen ly lea ned English om able games. (34Y25). The only speci ic mul ilingual ac i i y men ioned by he pe sonnel was e bally encou aging he gua dians o use hei home languages wi h he child en. In some INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MULTILINGUALISM 7 o ien a ion, while sys ema ic mul ilingual educa ion aligns wi h his ‘language as a esou ce’ and ‘language as a igh ’ o ien a ions (see also de Jong e al., 2016; Ha ju-Luuk- kainen, 2022; Macías, 2016). Acco ding o he esul s, i seemed ha many o ECEC eams hough ha mul ilingual ac i i ies we e only needed i he child en had lea ned o speak and ha he implemen- a ion o mul ilingual ac i i ies ela ed o he p opo ion o mul ilingual child en. Howe e , one o he main esul s o his s udy is ha a sys ema ic mul ilingual pedagogy could be implemen ed ega dless o he ages o he child en o he p opo ion o mul i- lingual child en. Ne e heless, child en in ECEC g oups encoun e a ying le els o quali y and quan i y in mul ilingual ac i i ies, and he e o e (especially mul ilingual) child en in ea ly childhood educa ion a e no educa ed no ca ed equally. The esul s o his s udy do no only apply o Finland, bu can also be gene alised in e na ionally (see simila esul s Be g o h e al., 2021; Lucas & Villegas, 2013; Meie , 2018). The ECEC pe sonnel and in aining o ECEC pe sonnel can ind he ea u es o mul ilingual ac i i ies and hei quali ica ions bene icial when de eloping he pedagogy in a mul ilingual di ec ion. This s udy highligh s, how he implemen a ion o language policies in ECEC is g adu- ally ansi ioning o mo e mul ilingual pedagogy. Howe e , as only abou 10 pe cen o he ECEC eams in his s udy desc ibe using a sys ema ic mul ilingual pedagogy, many ECEC eams a e no adequa ely p epa ed o implemen mul ilingual ac i i ies, o en equi ing sel - e lec ion and adap a ion o hei eaching me hods as well as ac i i ies. The esul s unde line he signi icance o suppo ing ECEC pe sonnel h ough aining and esou ces o mee he challenges o a linguis ically di e se popula ion. In e ms o he s udy’s limi a ions, we elied on sel - epo s om pe sonnel a he han di ec obse a ions in Ea ly Childhood Educa ion and Ca e (ECEC) ins i u ions. Because sel - epo s may no always accu a ely e lec pe sonnel beha iou in lea ning en i on- men s (Bo g, 2006), he e could be aspec s missing om he da a. Especially, as acco ding o Pon ie e al. (2020) mul ilingual p ac ices a e a ely planned o no epo ed as such. Addi ionally, he s udy couldn’ explo e changes in he implemen a ion o language- awa e educa ion policies due o he non- ecu en na u e o he da a collec ion, which in ol ed snapsho -like ex ual documen s cap u ing expe ien ial es imonies om ECEC pe sonnel. Despi e hese limi a ions, he analysis sheds ligh on he g adual p ocess o educa ional ins i u ions adop ing mul ilingual app oaches in hei agendas. 7. Conclusion Pedagogyis a mul idimensional and dynamic phenomenon (Kangas e al., 2021), and ECEC g oups a e social and cul u al a enas whe e people (i.e. child en, eache s and pa en s) wi h a ious agendas, aims, iews and desi es mee (Pesch, 2021). Al hough eache s seem na u ally use p ac ices ha suppo mul ilingual child en and hey eel ha hey a e ole models o solida i y and coope a ion, equali y and coexis- ence as well as implemen a ion o mul iple communica ion s a egies (Jua is i e al., 2023), and e en i he cu en language policies p omo e and accommoda e mul ilingu- alism (e.g. Bake , 2011), he mindse om monolingual pedagogical p ac ices o mul ilin- gual ones is challenging, as mul ilingual pedagogy is an ou come o a b oade shi in educa ional linguis ics ega ding how schola s heo ise and unde s and language, lea - ne s, and language lea ne s (c . May, 2014). 14 J.-A. AERILA ET AL. Disclosu e s a emen No po en ial con lic o in e es was epo ed by he au ho (s). 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