Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) has undergone many statutory reforms during the last decade in Finland. According to the revised Act on Early Childhood Education and Care (580/2018) the day care centers should consist of three categories of professionals: Early Education/KindergartenTeachers (university, bachelor’s degree), Early Education Social Service (Bachelor’s degree, University of Applied Sciences) and Early Education Nurses. Furthermore, the leader of an ECEC- center should have a Master’s degree in Early Childhood Education.
The division of labor between the three categories of professionals is the following: Teachers brings pedagogical expertise and the other professions brings expertise on social interaction and care into the team. This implicates new demands for leadership to enable the different categories of employees to find their identity, specify their roles and their competencies so that the personnel can work together as a multi-professional and unified team.