Steering Documents 

Organisation of teaching and learning in a preschool child care institution is based on the curriculum of the preschool child care institution, compiled on the basis of the National Curriculum for Preschool Child Care Institutions (2008). The curriculum of the preschool child care institution shall determine the objectives and principles of teaching and learning, organisation of teaching and learning, the expected general skills and the expected results of the development of 6-7-year-old children in the subject fields of teaching and learning as well as the principles for assessing the development of children. Curriculum guidebooks provide help in compiling curricula of preschool child care institutions specifying expected skills by age category.

Areas of learning and development 

The general objective of teaching and learning is comprehensive and consistent development of the child in cooperation between home and child care institution.

Supporting the development of a child in a child care institution is teamwork for which the director of the child care institution is responsible.

The general skills to be developed comprise:

• playing skills;
• cognitive and study skills;
• social skills;
• reflexive skills.

Fields of teaching and learning comprise:

• myself and the environment;
• language and speech;
• Estonian as a second language (in an institution or group with other language of instruction);
• mathematics;
• arts;
• music;
• physical movement.

Where necessary, an individual development plan is compiled for a child with special needs on the basis of the curriculum of the preschool child care institution.

The development of general skills is supported through all teaching and learning activities, integrating the contents of different fields.

The study contents of fields derive from children’s everyday life and their surrounding environment. Study activities include listening, speaking, reading, writing, observing, exploring, comparing, calculating and various movement, musical and artistic activities.

Cooperation between teachers and personnel and the inclusion of parents are important factors in the work of a preschool child care institution. Both contribute to the creation of a study environment which supports the development of a child. The responsibility of teachers and parents has grown with regard to assessment and support of a child’s development (e.g., holding development interviews with children).

Pedagogical approaches

The choice of methodology by a teacher shall be based on the concept of learning provided for in the National Curriculum for Preschool Child Care Institutions, according to which a child learns by imitating, watching, exploring, experimenting, communicating, playing, practising, etc.; a child is an active participant in teaching and learning and takes pleasure in action. Upon planning and carrying out teaching and learning, the specific characteristics of children, incl. abilities, linguistic and cultural background, age, gender, health status, etc., shall be taken into account. Teachers shall be the persons who direct the development of children and create an environment that promotes development. A child shall be involved in planning of activities, shall be directed to make choices and analyse what has been done.

In teaching and learning, conditions shall be created to develop the ability of a child to plan his or her activities, make choices, relate new knowledge with earlier experience, use the acquired knowledge in different situations and activities, discuss the acquired knowledge and skills, assess the effectiveness of his or her activities and take pleasure in his or her success and the success of others, and cope with failures. 

Preschool child care institutions implement different child-centred and child-based methodologies: StepbyStep, language immersion methodology, Reggio Emilia teaching methodology, Waldorf teaching methodology, discovery learning, outdoor learning, etc. 

Play is the primary activity of children in preschool age. Through teaching and learning activities, teachers support the development of children’s play skills. Play skills form the basis for all general skills and the skills and knowledge in the different subject fields of teaching and learning. The objective is that children 

• find joy in playing;
• concentrate on play;
• creatively apply their experiences, knowledge and impressions from surrounding world in their play;
• initiate different plays and develop the content of play;
• assume different roles in play;
• follow rules of play and are able to explain the rules of familiar plays to others;
• are able to solve problems during play and reach agreements with playmates;
• creatively use different objects in plays.

It is necessary to link teaching and learning with forming a child's physical development and hygienic habits and particularly with play and activities in the open air. During recent years, the role of audiovisual and multimedia facilities has grown in teaching and learning activities. The Ministry of Education and Research supports networks of preschool child care institutions and seminars for sharing of good practice in preschool education, and in-service training for the implementation of the national curriculum for preschool child care institutions, including trainings for developing teachers’ digital competence.

Learning and instructional materials, studies and initiatives

• Handbooks on the national curriculum, which are available in the e-School bag, treat all fields of teaching and learning activities and organisation thereof, the development of general skills in preschool age as well as the evaluation and support of children’s development. The e-School bag provides online games and exercises for preschool children targeted at improving language skills or used for therapeutic purposes.
• In 2017, in cooperation with Tallinn University, a handbook for preschool child care institution teachers, to be used in the context of their formal education acquired within the adult education system, “Learning and teaching in preschool child care institutions” was published. The handbook concerns child’s development and learning, environment that supports the development, areas of learning and teaching, and a teacher’s professionalism. 
• In 2014 – 2016, under the programme “Children and youth at risk” funded from the European Economic Area (EEA) grant, NGO Hea Algus programme “The involvement and intervention in education system” was implemented. Under the programme, the principles of inclusive education, capability to deal with children belonging to risk groups and prevent a decline in learning motivation, early school leaving and problematic behaviour were promoted.
• In 2016-2020, Estonia participates in the OECD international pilot study International Early Learning and Child Well-being Study (IELS). In Estonia, the study is organised by Foundation Innove in cooperation with the Ministry of Education and Research and Tallinn University.
• Under the IELS, the social, emotional and cognitive skills of children aged 5 to 6 and the impact of the children’s individuality, home and preschool institution on preschool education. The results of the study form a basis for the development of an instrument for assessing a child’s development as well as for the improvement of the Estonian preschool education system.    
• For the last nine years, the Ministry of Education and Research has been supporting the project “Bully-Free Preschool” which was implemented in cooperation of the Danish children’s protection union “Save the Children” and Estonian Union for Child Welfare. To date, 80% of the preschools in Estonia have joined the project. With a view to supporting children, parents and preschool child care institutions, Estonian Union for Child Welfare carries out in-service trainings and has developed a website for obtaining relevant advice. The principles of the methodology have been introduced into the curriculum for in-service preschool teacher training in Tallinn University. All preschool child care institutions in Estonia are expected to have applied evidence-based methodologies to prevent bullying by 2020.
• Health behaviour and health education of children are important topics in teaching and learning in preschools; 40%of Estonian preschools have joined the Network of Health Promoting Preschools. In the field of health education, electronic learning materials and environment assessment techniques have been developed.           In cooperation of the Ministry of Education and Research, Foundation Innove and the Integration and Migration Foundation Our People, methodological materials for studying Estonian and implementing language immersion methodologies, incl. two-way language immersion, have been developed; counselling, regional information days and trainings have been organised for teachers in preschool child care institutions. In Estonia there are five methodology centres providing methodological support to teachers involved in education of children whose home language is other than Estonian. In 2016, Foundation Innove Curriculum and methodology centre in cooperation with the publisher of the sound tracked printed matter DILESY published “Loeme koos” (“Let’s read together”), a series of picture books equipped with a digital storytelling pen. The series was developed to help children with a home language other than Estonian learn the Estonian language.
• For teaching Estonian as a second language, the pilot project “A professional Estonian-speaking teacher in a group with Russian as the language of instruction” has been developed and the digital textbook “Estonian as a second language, part 1 and part 2” is being implemented. In 2018, funds for the purchase of tablet personal computers were allocated to the preschools that participate in the pilot project. The project is aimed at ensuring all children with equal opportunities in preschool education, incl. teachers’ proficiency in Estonian and professionalism in supporting Estonian studies. Under the pilot project, the labour costs and training of Estonian-speaking teachers for 30 groups in Tallinn preschool institutions and 32 groups in Ida-Virumaa preschool child care institutions are funded by the state. In the course of the pilot project, applied research is carried out in cooperation with Tallinn University for a better organisation of early language studies in Estonian preschools.
• As of 2014, the National Institute for Health Development in cooperation with local governments offers trainings for parents in preschools following the evidence-based programme The Incredible Years. The programme improves the parents’ communication and assertiveness skills as well as conflict and stress management, and problem coping skills.

Assessment 

The national curriculum for preschool child care institutions treats evaluation of children’s development as cooperation between teachers and parents. Evaluation of a child’s development is important to understand the child’s special qualities, determine his or her special needs and support his or her positive self-esteem and development as well as to plan teaching and learning in cooperation with parents.

Evaluation of a child’s development is a part of the everyday process of teaching and learning. Teachers carry out observations according to a precise plan and children are being followed in everyday activities, free play situations and in activities guided by teachers. The basis for evaluation of a child’s development is constituted by the presumed general skills and results in fields of teaching and learning. At least once per academic year, the teacher carries out a development process-oriented interview with the parent(s) regarding the development of the child, giving feedback on the child’s development and study results and exploring the parent’s views and expectations regarding the child’s development.

Observation is the primary method used in the evaluation process. Indirect methods like interview or analysis of children's works are also suitable. It is also common to prepare a file or portfolio on a child’s development. The methods used are introduced to the parents. Succeeding, development (progress), positive attitudes and interest are acknowledged. The development of a child is described from the standpoint of the child, valuing his or her achievements. For the assessment and early detection of a child’s speech development and for the development support, speech therapists apply science-based speech development tests that allow evaluation of important aspects of a child’s speech: vocabulary, grammatical skills, and pronunciation. A child’s speech is assessed in a playful setting where the child plays with things or looks at nice pictures together with a speech evaluator.

As part of a cooperation project between the Ministry of Education and Research and Eesti Logopeedide Ühing (Estonian Speech Therapists Association), the standardised speech tests for 3-4-year-old children and 5-6-year-old children have been developed.  With funding from the European Economic Area grant programme “Children and Youth at Risk”, in 2014-2016, the University of Tartu compiled and adopted five assessment tools for determining the development level of 1-7-year-old children, incl. a short form version of the MacArthur-Bates Communicative Development Inventories Estonian version (ECDI), a social skills questionnaire, Strebeleva’s methodology for assessing a children’s cognitive skills and the Psychoeducational profile (PEP-3 test). Eesti Logopeedide Ühing organises trainings for support specialists at preschool child care institutions on the application of the assessment tools.

For assessing and supporting a child’s development, children, parents and teachers in preschool child care institutions can receive counselling on speech therapy, special education, social pedagogy and psychological counselling from the Foundation Innove Rajaleidja centres that have been founded in every county.

Transition to primary school 

Pursuant to the Preschool Child Care Institutions Act, a preschool child care institution shall issue a readiness for school card to those who have completed the preschool education curriculum, describing the results of development of the child. A parent submits the readiness for school card to the school where the child commences his or her compulsory school attendance. The procedure for completing readiness for school cards has been set out in the regulation of the Minister of Education and Research “List of learning and education-related mandatory documents for a preschool child care institution and the procedure for completing such documents”. A readiness for school card describes the child’s achievements in the development of general skills and in fields of learning activities, following the national curriculum for preschool child care institutions. The child’s strengths, as well as aspects that need development, are outlined. Evaluation of readiness for school and compilation of the readiness for school card support the smooth transfer of a child from preschool to school. The readiness for school card helps the class teacher to understand the child’s individuality and development and to plan cooperation with parents and support specialists. The class teacher takes account of the child’s previous experiences and creates, in cooperation with the family, opportunities to support the child’s individual development.