Early Childhood Centers in USA and Faroe Islands/Denmark

I work with early childhood leadership and school leadership at the Department of Education at the University of the Faroe Islands. Faroe Islands is in Europe and lays in the middle of the north Atlantic sea. Faroe Islands and Greenland are a part of the kingdom of Denmark.

In 2017, I was on a successful six-month research visit at McCormick Center for Early Childhood Leadership at National Louis University in Wheeling. Amongst other things, I acquired an in-depth knowledge of how early childhood care and education differs between the USA and the Faroe Islands/Denmark.

One crucial difference is that early childhood centers in the Faroe Islands and Denmark are most often funded directly by municipalities rather than by tuition, fees, and child care subsidies which are common in the U.S. Parents in the Faroe Islands and Denmark who are not receiving benefits pay between one-sixth and one-tenth of the amount that US parents pay to have a child in an early childhood setting. The remainder of the cost in the Faroe Islands and Denmark is covered by municipal tax revenues.

Another significant difference is that over 90% of preschool children in the Faroe Islands and Denmark have a full-time place in an early childhood setting, which is considerably higher than the figure for the USA and other countries. The main reason that the rest of children under school age in the Faroe Islands and Denmark are not in early childhood settings is that there is state-financed maternity leave throughout most of the first year of a child’s life.

The biggest difference, however, between the Faroe Islands and the USA, and even Denmark, is probably that the introduction of formal school learning is much later in the Faroe Islands. In Denmark, this starts at the age of six and in the USA, at age five. Children in the Faroe Islands are not introduced to formal school learning until the age of seven when they start school.

Likewise, the work carried out in Faroese early childhood settings is little marked by academic learning. The Faroese Early Childhood Setting Act from 2000 says that the goal is “with care, in a secure and child-friendly environment, to develop and shape children in the best possible way” (my translation). In accordance with this goal and my in-depth knowledge of the Faroese early childhood field, I find Baumfield’s (2013) description to be a good characterization of the focus areas of pedagogues (preschool teachers) in early childhood settings in the Faroe Islands and Denmark. In line with Baumfield’s (2013) description, pedagogues in early childhood settings do not teach in a structured way literacy, numeracy etc., but their focus is rather on children’s overall development, involving a firm belief in the importance of learning through play and in nurturing the child’s natural curiosity. Further, a common way of understanding the concept of “pedagogy” in the Faroe Islands and Denmark can be illuminated with the words of Petrie et al. (2012, p. 225): “‘Pedagogy’ implies that you are working with the whole child: body, mind, feelings, spirit and creativity. Crucially, the child is seen as a social being, connected to others and at the same time with their own distinctive experiences and knowledge.”

After six years as a researcher in the field of early childhood in the Faroe Islands, my impression is that, unfortunately, there is too sharp a division between formal learning in schools and broader pedagogical activities in early childhood settings in the Faroe Islands.

After a six-month research stay in USA, my impression is that formal learning and broader pedagogical activities blend with each other in early childhood centers in the USA. However, it also appears to me that school-like learning activities in early childhood centers in the USA are more valued than the broader pedagogical activities. I have indicated previously that early childhood education needs to enhance a certain amount of formal learning, but at the moment it seems to me, that in the USA it has tipped too much over to that side. Hence there is a danger of losing focus on securing development of the whole child: body, mind, feelings, spirit and creativity. I find it important to remember that children in early development stages need a holistic development approach that nurtures the child’s natural curiosity through play.

REFERENCES:

Baumfield, V. M. (2013). Pedagogy. In D. Wyse, V. M. Baumfield, D. Egan, C. Gallagher, L. Hayward, M. Hulme, R. Leitch, K. Livingston, I. Menter & B. Lingard, Creating the Curriculum, (pp. 46-73). London: Routledge.

Petrie, P., Boddy, J. Cameron, C., Heptinstall, E., McQouil, S., Simon, A. & Withfall, V. (2012). Pedagogy: a holistic, personal approach to work with children and young people, across services. In L. Miller, R. Drury & C. Cable, Extending Professional Practice in the Early Years (pp. 223-233). London: Sage.

< Older Post

Newer Post >

Taller básico de Hojas de cálculo de Google para educadores de la primera infancia

By Escrito Por Julieta Muñoz Y Sabrina Resendiz • October 30, 2025

Escrito por Julieta Muñoz y Sabrina Resendiz Hoy en día, la tecnología es una herramienta esencial en todos los trabajos, incluso en educación infantil. Por eso, hemos diseñado un taller básico de Hojas de cálculo de Google (Google Sheets) para educadores, asistentes de salón de clase, coordinadores y directores de programas de la primera infancia que buscan mejorar su organización y el seguimiento y eficiencia administrativa. Este taller está dirigido a educadores, asistentes de aula, directores, personal administrativo y cualquier profesional en el área de la educación infanti l que desea mejorar sus habilidades digitales. Este curso virtual ofrece una introducción sencilla para quienes están empezando a usar hojas de cálculo. Durante el taller, los participantes aprenderán a: Navegar Google Sheets con confianza : aprenderán a usar la interfaz básica y a acceder a sus hojas de trabajo desde cualquier dispositivo con conexión a internet. Crear y organizar hojas de cálculo : aprenderán a crear documentos, nombrarlos adecuadamente y organizarlos en Google Drive. Ingresar y editar datos : cómo introducir información de manera ordenada y precisa, y cómo modificarla cuando sea necesario. Usar funciones básicas : como SUMA, PROMEDIO y CONTAR; ideales para organizar y dar seguimiento a información como asistencia, inventario de materiales, y desarrollo infantil. Aplicar formatos simples : para resaltar información importante, como cambiar colores, ajustar tamaños de texto y usar bordes para mejorar la visualización. Compartir y colaborar en tiempo real : cómo compartir hojas de cálculo con colegas o supervisores y trabajar en equipo de manera remota. Proteger la información sensible : conceptos básicos sobre cómo gestionar permisos de acceso y edición para mantener la información segura y confidencial. Beneficios de participar en nuestro taller Participar en esta formación y familiarizarse con las hojas de cálculo ofrece múltiples beneficios para los profesionales de la educación infantil: Mejor organización diaria : Mantener un registro de asistencia, listas de materiales, programación de actividades y seguimiento de niños será más rápido y eficiente. Ahorro de tiempo : Automatizar cálculos y organizar la información en un solo lugar reduce el tiempo dedicado a tareas administrativas. Facilidad de colaboración : La posibilidad de trabajar en tiempo real con colegas mejora la comunicación y el trabajo en equipo, especialmente en ambientes virtuales o híbridos. Fortalecimiento de habilidades digitales : Tener conocimientos básicos en Google Sheets es un paso importante para avanzar en otras herramientas tecnológicas educativas. Mayor autonomía y confianza profesional : Al desarrollar estas habilidades, los educadores pueden trabajar con más seguridad y fluidez en sus tareas digitales diarias. Si desea fortalecer sus competencias digitales, acompáñenos a este entrenamiento completamente gratuito. No se necesita experiencia previa en hojas de cálculo. El curso se ofrecerá en formato virtual con ejercicios prácticos y acompañamiento personalizado. ¡No pierdas la oportunidad de mejorar tus habilidades digitales y transformar tu práctica educativa con herramientas simples y efectivas como Google Sheets! Haga clic aquí para registrarse para este curso que se llevará a cabo el miércoles, 12 de noviembre de 6:00 a 7:30 p.m CST. ¡Lo esperamos!