Montessori
Both champion child‑led learning, but Montessori emphasises individual work with specially designed materials, while HEI balances individual and social learning experiences.
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Inspired by Finland’s approach to early childhood education, we take the best that Finland has to offer and combine it with other best practices in our progressive, holistic pedagogy.
We continuously update our curriculum and pedagogical practices based on the latest research. Our academic support is provided by our co-founders University of Helsinki and Professor Lipponen
"Together with you, we want to provide better education for the world."
Click any concept to read more about the principles that shape every HEI classroom.
We view children as unique individuals with their own ideas, thoughts and needs and we therefore prioritize children’s wellbeing, both physical and emotional, along with building their competencies. We foster their participation and autonomy, teach them how to take care of themselves and others and develop their social-emotional abilities so that they learn the skills for life.
We believe that all aspects of education should involve practices that are lasting and caring for the community. Sustainability encompasses many areas of life, from social practices like incorporating the local culture and teaching children compassion, to ecological considerations like developing children’s relationship with nature and their willingness to actively care for the environment.
Research proves that teachers matter! The curriculum is only as good as the teacher implementing it, so all teachers should be well-trained in research-based methods and engage continuous development to deliver quality education. Through our training, teachers become independent, creative professionals confident in their skills and capable of collaborating and building professional communities with other educators.
Children’s learning is not limited to specific activities or the classroom. Rather, every situation and moment is a chance to learn something new! We train teachers to recognize these moments and increase learning opportunities. We also designed the learning spaces based on educational research to foster these moments because the environment also plays an important role in the children’s everyday learning experiences.
Play is the most natural way for children to learn and it's a prerequisite for their development. During play, children display their overall development, even performing a level above their developmental stage because they are motivated to learn and unafraid to take risks. We train teachers to foster play and enrich these important opportunities for further learning.We also value the intrinsic value of play and prioritize free play without adult involvement. Free play is an opportunity for the children to collaborate with each other, explore their surroundings, practice solving problems and practice creativity.
Knowledge is socially constructed, which means that children learn through their relationships with others. Building a sense of community, peer learning and developing meaningful relationships with other children and trusted adults are key elements of our pedagogy. Through these moments, children learn the social-emotional skills necessary to express themselves and effectively interact with others in all types of situations.
Children also learn through guided exploration, and this is achieved by completing projects. “Inquiry-based learning,” is part of our educational approach, and it involves a collaborative effort between children and teachers. Teachers are trained to carefully observe children's questions, wonderings and interests and to use these clues to guide the learning. Children, in turn, exercise their agency by choosing project themes, asking questions and exploring new subjects together with their teachers.
Lifelong learning begins in the early years, and transversal competencies are a combination of knowledge, skills, values and attitudes, as well as the ability to use such knowledge in different situations. We teach children how to apply their current knowledge in new contexts through playful methods, movement, exploration, daily routines and self-expression so that they become confident learners capable of adapting to and transforming any setting.
See where HEI Schools' Finnish pedagogy aligns with — and differs from — other popular early education frameworks.
Both champion child‑led learning, but Montessori emphasises individual work with specially designed materials, while HEI balances individual and social learning experiences.
Read MoreBoth share an inquiry‑led philosophy, but Reggio Emilia is project‑driven with looser guidelines; HEI offers a structured, research‑backed curriculum to guide every step.
Read MoreBoth encourage curiosity and inquiry, but PYP extends through age 12 while HEI is purpose‑built specifically for children aged 1 to 6 in their earliest learning years.
Read MoreConventional preschools focus on structured academics; HEI integrates play, exploration, and child‑led discovery — proven by decades of Finnish education research.
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