Marja‐Leena Laakso
Biographic Data
| ID | 5804264 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Marja‐Leena Laakso |
| GIVEN NAMES | Marja‐Leena |
| FAMILY NAME | Laakso |
| SIGNATURE | LAAKSO M L |
| AFFILIATIONS | University of Jyväskylä |
| ORCID | 0000-0001-5185-9817 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 17 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 26 |
| WORKS AS AUTHOR | 17 |
| WORKS AS EDITOR | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 1987 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2025 |
| H-INDEX | 3 |
Ecec educators’ Attitudes and Perceptions Toward and Supportive Role in children’s Digital Gameplay
Today, digital games are considered important tools for learning, but using them in early childhood education and care (ECEC) has raised the question of educators’ roles when children play an educational digital game. The aim of this study was to explore how ECEC educators differed in their attitudes and perceptions toward and ways of supporting children’s digital gameplay and how these differences were associated with children’s gameplay. The da…
Family and work‐related risk factors in children's s ocial–emotional well‐being and parent–educator cooperation in flexibly scheduled early childhood education and care
Non‐standard work schedules (NSWS) have become typical, but their associations with childcare arrangements and children's well‐being are unknown. This study explores how risk factors are associated with the social–emotional well‐being of girls and boys using flexibly scheduled early childhood education and care. Furthermore, the study investigates whether well‐functioning cooperation between parents and educators buffers the negative effects of t…
Infertility as a lonely struggle? Coping stories of previously infertile women
In this narrative study, we explored the meaning infertile women attribute to social support in coping with their infertility-related challenges. Written accounts and episodic interviews with 26 previously infertile Finnish women were used as data. Two different coping story types emerged: coping alone and coping with support. In the coping alone type women neither sought nor received support. Their coping appeared as a lonely struggle. In the co…
Positioning flexibly scheduled Ecec in the chain of childcare by parents working non-standard hours
This study examined how Finnish parents working non-standard hours (N=18) positioned institutional flexibly scheduled early childhood education and care (ECEC) as a link in their chain of childcare. Interview data, analysed following the principles of discursive psychology, yielded three discourses on flexibly scheduled ECEC: the discourse of the child’s best interest, the discourse of the labour market, and the discourse of equality of opportuni…
Evening early childhood education and care
The article investigates the ongoing reformulation of the institutional culture of early childhood education and care (ECEC) in Finnish evening ECEC. Educators’ practices in implementing evening ECEC were explored and viewed through the lens of young children’s belonging. Data were collected by observing the evenings of eight children aged 20–36 months in two Finnish centers offering flexibly scheduled ECEC and analyzed using qualitative thematic…
Displaying morally responsible motherhood
This study examined how lone mothers rationalise their work during non-standard hours (e.g., evenings and weekends), which they perceive as problematic in terms of child wellbeing, and thereby as violating the culturally shared moral order of ‘good’ motherhood. The data comprise interviews with 16 Finnish lone mothers, analysed as accounts, with a special focus on their linguistic features. The mothers displayed morally responsible motherhood thr…
Privilege or tragedy? Educators’ accounts of flexibly scheduled early childhood education and care
This article explores accounts given by Finnish educators ( n = 31) on the topic of flexibly scheduled early childhood education and care (i.e. childcare provided during non-standard as well as standard hours). Previous research has shown this to be a sensitive topic because of the contradiction between what is deemed in the interests of children and the fact of providing childcare during non-standard hours. The research follows the principles of…
Parental working time patterns and children's socioemotional wellbeing
Reconsidering passivity and activity in children’s digital play
The discussion around children’s digital game culture has resulted in two contradictory images of children: the passive, antisocial children uncritically and mechanically consuming digital game content and the active, social children creatively using and interacting with digital game content. Our aim is to examine how these seemingly contradictory ideas of “active” and “passive” children could be considered. By means of empirical examples of chil…
Mothers’ non-standard working schedules and family time
Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate Finnish working mothers’ experiences of the effects of non-standard working schedules (NSWS) on family time in two family forms, coupled and lone-parent families. Furthermore the aim is to find out what meanings mothers with NSWS attached to family time paying particular attention to the circumstances in which mothers experienced NSWS positively. Design/methodology/approach – Thematic analysis…
Mothers’ non-standard working and childcare-related challenges
Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to particularly focus on lone-mother families, comparing the childcare-related challenges experienced by working lone mothers and coupled mothers in three European countries in the context of a 24/7 economy and non-standard working hours (e.g. evening, night and weekend work). Design/methodology/approach – This study utilises survey data from Finnish, Dutch and British working mothers ( n =1,106) collected a…
Relationship Between the Linguistic Environments and Early Bilingual Language Development of Hearing Children in Deaf-parented Families
We explored variation in the linguistic environments of hearing children of Deaf parents and how it was associated with their early bilingual language development. For that purpose we followed up the children's productive vocabulary (measured with the MCDI; MacArthur Communicative Development Inventory) and syntactic complexity (measured with the MLU10; mean length of the 10 longest utterances the child produced during videorecorded play sessions…
Predicting delayed letter knowledge development and its relation to Grade 1 reading achievement among children with and without familial risk for dyslexia
The authors examined the developmental trajectories of children's early letter knowledge in relation to measures spanning and encompassing their prior language-related and cognitive measures and environmental factors and their subsequent Grade 1 reading achievement. Letter knowledge was assessed longitudinally at ages 4.5, 5.0, 5.5, and 6.5 years; earlier language skills and environmental factors were assessed at ages 3.5 and 4.5 years; and readi…
The development of children at familial risk for dyslexia
Interest in early shared reading
Children’s interest in shared reading (14 and 24 months) and its relation to their later language and letter knowledge (age 3;6) were investigated in a follow-up study. The participants were 156 children and their mothers. Half of these children ( N = 74) came from families where one or both of the parents were diagnosed as reading disabled (the at-risk group), the other half ( N = 82) belonged to the control group. The results revealed that chil…
Early intentional communication as a predictor of language development in young toddlers
Interrelations between various types of early intentional communi cation measures, and their relations to children's concurrent and subsequent language skills and maternal interactional sensitivity were studied in a sample of 111 mother-infant pairs. Intentional communication was assessed at 14 months of age using a composite of early actions and gestures derived from parental reports (MacArthur Communicative Development Inventories, MCDI), and m…
Examination stress affects plasma levels of TSH and thyroid hormones differently in females and males
Plasma levels of TSH and thyroid hormones in 22 male and 27 female medical students were determined by radioimmunoassay before and after an academic examination. The plasma values of TSH were slightly higher in both sexes on the examination day than on the control days. The values were lower after the examination than before it in females but not in males. Plasma levels of T3 were higher in males than in females on the examination day. In contras…
Predicting delayed letter knowledge development and its relation to Grade 1 reading achievement among children with and without familial risk for dyslexia
The authors examined the developmental trajectories of children's early letter knowledge in relation to measures spanning and encompassing their prior language-related and cognitive measures and environmental factors and their subsequent Grade 1 reading achievement. Letter knowledge was assessed longitudinally at ages 4.5, 5.0, 5.5, and 6.5 years; earlier language skills and environmental factors were assessed at ages 3.5 and 4.5 years; and readi…
Parental working time patterns and children's socioemotional wellbeing
Mothers’ non-standard working and childcare-related challenges
Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to particularly focus on lone-mother families, comparing the childcare-related challenges experienced by working lone mothers and coupled mothers in three European countries in the context of a 24/7 economy and non-standard working hours (e.g. evening, night and weekend work). Design/methodology/approach – This study utilises survey data from Finnish, Dutch and British working mothers ( n =1,106) collected a…
Mothers’ non-standard working schedules and family time
Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate Finnish working mothers’ experiences of the effects of non-standard working schedules (NSWS) on family time in two family forms, coupled and lone-parent families. Furthermore the aim is to find out what meanings mothers with NSWS attached to family time paying particular attention to the circumstances in which mothers experienced NSWS positively. Design/methodology/approach – Thematic analysis…
Displaying morally responsible motherhood
This study examined how lone mothers rationalise their work during non-standard hours (e.g., evenings and weekends), which they perceive as problematic in terms of child wellbeing, and thereby as violating the culturally shared moral order of ‘good’ motherhood. The data comprise interviews with 16 Finnish lone mothers, analysed as accounts, with a special focus on their linguistic features. The mothers displayed morally responsible motherhood thr…
Privilege or tragedy? Educators’ accounts of flexibly scheduled early childhood education and care
This article explores accounts given by Finnish educators ( n = 31) on the topic of flexibly scheduled early childhood education and care (i.e. childcare provided during non-standard as well as standard hours). Previous research has shown this to be a sensitive topic because of the contradiction between what is deemed in the interests of children and the fact of providing childcare during non-standard hours. The research follows the principles of…
Reconsidering passivity and activity in children’s digital play
The discussion around children’s digital game culture has resulted in two contradictory images of children: the passive, antisocial children uncritically and mechanically consuming digital game content and the active, social children creatively using and interacting with digital game content. Our aim is to examine how these seemingly contradictory ideas of “active” and “passive” children could be considered. By means of empirical examples of chil…
Examination stress affects plasma levels of TSH and thyroid hormones differently in females and males
Plasma levels of TSH and thyroid hormones in 22 male and 27 female medical students were determined by radioimmunoassay before and after an academic examination. The plasma values of TSH were slightly higher in both sexes on the examination day than on the control days. The values were lower after the examination than before it in females but not in males. Plasma levels of T3 were higher in males than in females on the examination day. In contras…
Early intentional communication as a predictor of language development in young toddlers
Interrelations between various types of early intentional communi cation measures, and their relations to children's concurrent and subsequent language skills and maternal interactional sensitivity were studied in a sample of 111 mother-infant pairs. Intentional communication was assessed at 14 months of age using a composite of early actions and gestures derived from parental reports (MacArthur Communicative Development Inventories, MCDI), and m…
The development of children at familial risk for dyslexia
Interest in early shared reading
Children’s interest in shared reading (14 and 24 months) and its relation to their later language and letter knowledge (age 3;6) were investigated in a follow-up study. The participants were 156 children and their mothers. Half of these children ( N = 74) came from families where one or both of the parents were diagnosed as reading disabled (the at-risk group), the other half ( N = 82) belonged to the control group. The results revealed that chil…
Predicting delayed letter knowledge development and its relation to Grade 1 reading achievement among children with and without familial risk for dyslexia
The authors examined the developmental trajectories of children's early letter knowledge in relation to measures spanning and encompassing their prior language-related and cognitive measures and environmental factors and their subsequent Grade 1 reading achievement. Letter knowledge was assessed longitudinally at ages 4.5, 5.0, 5.5, and 6.5 years; earlier language skills and environmental factors were assessed at ages 3.5 and 4.5 years; and readi…
Relationship Between the Linguistic Environments and Early Bilingual Language Development of Hearing Children in Deaf-parented Families
We explored variation in the linguistic environments of hearing children of Deaf parents and how it was associated with their early bilingual language development. For that purpose we followed up the children's productive vocabulary (measured with the MCDI; MacArthur Communicative Development Inventory) and syntactic complexity (measured with the MLU10; mean length of the 10 longest utterances the child produced during videorecorded play sessions…
Reconsidering passivity and activity in children’s digital play
The discussion around children’s digital game culture has resulted in two contradictory images of children: the passive, antisocial children uncritically and mechanically consuming digital game content and the active, social children creatively using and interacting with digital game content. Our aim is to examine how these seemingly contradictory ideas of “active” and “passive” children could be considered. By means of empirical examples of chil…
Mothers’ non-standard working schedules and family time
Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate Finnish working mothers’ experiences of the effects of non-standard working schedules (NSWS) on family time in two family forms, coupled and lone-parent families. Furthermore the aim is to find out what meanings mothers with NSWS attached to family time paying particular attention to the circumstances in which mothers experienced NSWS positively. Design/methodology/approach – Thematic analysis…
Mothers’ non-standard working and childcare-related challenges
Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to particularly focus on lone-mother families, comparing the childcare-related challenges experienced by working lone mothers and coupled mothers in three European countries in the context of a 24/7 economy and non-standard working hours (e.g. evening, night and weekend work). Design/methodology/approach – This study utilises survey data from Finnish, Dutch and British working mothers ( n =1,106) collected a…
Privilege or tragedy? Educators’ accounts of flexibly scheduled early childhood education and care
This article explores accounts given by Finnish educators ( n = 31) on the topic of flexibly scheduled early childhood education and care (i.e. childcare provided during non-standard as well as standard hours). Previous research has shown this to be a sensitive topic because of the contradiction between what is deemed in the interests of children and the fact of providing childcare during non-standard hours. The research follows the principles of…
Parental working time patterns and children's socioemotional wellbeing
Displaying morally responsible motherhood
This study examined how lone mothers rationalise their work during non-standard hours (e.g., evenings and weekends), which they perceive as problematic in terms of child wellbeing, and thereby as violating the culturally shared moral order of ‘good’ motherhood. The data comprise interviews with 16 Finnish lone mothers, analysed as accounts, with a special focus on their linguistic features. The mothers displayed morally responsible motherhood thr…
Evening early childhood education and care
The article investigates the ongoing reformulation of the institutional culture of early childhood education and care (ECEC) in Finnish evening ECEC. Educators’ practices in implementing evening ECEC were explored and viewed through the lens of young children’s belonging. Data were collected by observing the evenings of eight children aged 20–36 months in two Finnish centers offering flexibly scheduled ECEC and analyzed using qualitative thematic…
Infertility as a lonely struggle? Coping stories of previously infertile women
In this narrative study, we explored the meaning infertile women attribute to social support in coping with their infertility-related challenges. Written accounts and episodic interviews with 26 previously infertile Finnish women were used as data. Two different coping story types emerged: coping alone and coping with support. In the coping alone type women neither sought nor received support. Their coping appeared as a lonely struggle. In the co…
Positioning flexibly scheduled Ecec in the chain of childcare by parents working non-standard hours
This study examined how Finnish parents working non-standard hours (N=18) positioned institutional flexibly scheduled early childhood education and care (ECEC) as a link in their chain of childcare. Interview data, analysed following the principles of discursive psychology, yielded three discourses on flexibly scheduled ECEC: the discourse of the child’s best interest, the discourse of the labour market, and the discourse of equality of opportuni…
Family and work‐related risk factors in children's s ocial–emotional well‐being and parent–educator cooperation in flexibly scheduled early childhood education and care
Non‐standard work schedules (NSWS) have become typical, but their associations with childcare arrangements and children's well‐being are unknown. This study explores how risk factors are associated with the social–emotional well‐being of girls and boys using flexibly scheduled early childhood education and care. Furthermore, the study investigates whether well‐functioning cooperation between parents and educators buffers the negative effects of t…
Ecec educators’ Attitudes and Perceptions Toward and Supportive Role in children’s Digital Gameplay
Today, digital games are considered important tools for learning, but using them in early childhood education and care (ECEC) has raised the question of educators’ roles when children play an educational digital game. The aim of this study was to explore how ECEC educators differed in their attitudes and perceptions toward and ways of supporting children’s digital gameplay and how these differences were associated with children’s gameplay. The da…
Psychology (16 works) · Developmental psychology (14 works) · Social Psychology (7 works) · Sociology (7 works) · Early Childhood Education and Development (6 works) · Social Psychology (6 works) · Work-Family Balance Challenges (6 works) · Early childhood education (5 works) · Linguistics (5 works) · Medicine (5 works)