Compared with other Nordic countries, Norway has a more recent history in early child education. A broad system, with strong public support, only became available from the 70’s. A description of this system in this paper includes a brief historic, information about funding, responsibilities and costs, legal regulations about personnel - education and work conditions, as well as facilities, equipment and materials. The whole system is guided and controlled by national regulations, although freedom for planning and acting is kept for institutions and personnel. Objectives and goals, contents and methods, the pedagogy as sustained ideas as well as actual practices constitute the central focus in this paper, especially the emphasis dedicated to play and creative work. We also make some comparisons with the Brazilian situation, emphasizing the legal, cultural and pedagogical differences observed in both systems. We use these comparisons to think about the lessons that can be learned and used in evaluating the early child education system in Brazil.
Early child education; Curriculum; Play; Childcare system
