It was a very productive and positive week, on a personal as well as research level. Staff were very accommodating yet went about the day in a natural way. The children were initially all very interested in the camera. I taught them how to work it and they filmed each other on several occasions. In fact, as soon as a child came up to me and asked to film, I passed the camera onto the child. They very quickly understood the process and would weave in and out of my filming, but mainly went on with their play, accepting me as part of their daily life very quickly, including me in all of their play and routines of the day. I was very pleased with the films I produced at the end of the research week as I feel they accurately reflect children's everyday life in the setting, and importantly staff also felt so.
Although I grew up with Swedish (and French), and did all my schooling in Swedish, I have been living in english speaking countries for so long, I found it a strain to hold the interview conversations in Swedish. A primary teacher I know however said something interesting. She feels there is what she called a 'language tolerance' in Finland, a tolerance towards not speaking a language quite correctly, as Finland is not only officially a bilingual country, but also has an eclectic mix of county specific dialects as well as the Sami languages. But, as words do matter, I kept noting down Swedish words relevant to my research that I up to this point had been more familiar with in English.
It was not only a pleasure to be welcomed into this setting but also an absolute privilege as all parents allowed me access to interact with their children, and staff were so friendly, helpful and respectful in every way.
