Talk:esikoulu

Preschool is incorrect

The translation from esikoulu to preschool is an easy direct translation because esi is pre and koulu is school. However, this translation is wrong. According to Opetushallitus, Esiopetus on maksutonta opetusta, jota lapset saavat oppivelvollisuutta edeltävänä vuonna. [1] : Esiopetus is the education a child receives in the year before compulsory education. That year in the USA is referred to as kindergarten and in the UK as reception. Translating it as preschool education is misleading, as preschool has the meaning in English of daycare education for children 2-5 [2]

Rendall (talk) 00:02, 6 June 2021 (UTC)

@Rendall It seems there is quite a bit of fluidity in how these terms are used. Wikipedia describes kindergarten as "a preschool educational approach based on playing, singing, practical activities such as drawing, and social interaction as part of the transition from home to school", while preschool is described as "an educational establishment or learning space offering early childhood education to children before they begin compulsory education at primary school". Both definitions come across as ambiguous. Our English definitions are not much better; they treat kindergarten, nursery school and preschool as synonyms. It seems that at least in the US, the order is preschool, (pre-kindergarten), kindergarten, primary school, in which case it is indeed the case that esikoulu means "kindergarten" and päiväkoti means "preschool", not the other way around as they are commonly translated. The UK appears to only have nursery schools. (The Finnish order is päiväkoti, esikoulu and then peruskoulu (~ primary school, elementary school, etc.).) — surjection ⟨??⟩ 19:24, 9 June 2021 (UTC)

Hi, @Surjection. There is ambiguity in those articles, it's true. In speech I have never heard kindergarten referred to as preschool. Which is not to say that simply because I haven't heard of it, that it never is, but I'm pretty sure it's not common if so. Some districts in the US may not offer kindergarten, in which case it's just preschool then 1st grade. In England it appears they have a year similar to kindergarten or esikoulu called reception. Which, according to the article may be called Nursery but is after nursery school. Talk about ambiguity!

— Rendall (talk) 23:29, 11 June 2021 (UTC)