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Abstract

Title: The ambiguity of sameness

Nordic Early Childhood Education (ECE) traditions are described as egalitarian, characterized by socio-political ambitions to reduce unequal differences between social groups. The article discusses multicultural children's conditions for participation in ECE based on ECE teachers' understandings of sameness. Thematic analysis of in-depth interviews with four ECE teachers shows a dialectical range in the concept of sameness - from "not making a difference" to "giving equal opportunities". Sameness is in the interviews linked to its opposite – everyone is different. ECE is considered a neutral ground where differences are explored based on what we have in common. In this way, participation in the community is left to the child's experience of belonging and identification of "the assumed same" in the ECE’s content and practice.