Liberal multiculturalism and national pedagogy in a Finnish preschool context: inclusion or nation‐making?

This article analyzes how professionals of early childhood education define Finnishness and how they deal with ethnicity. It illustrates how nationality and ethnicity are actualised in the everyday practices of preschool. As part of a one‐year ethnographic study in two preschools, the study reveals that the liberal version of multiculturalism adopted in Finland strengthens the boundaries of the nation‐state. Finnishness gets conceptualised within the discipline and order of everyday life. When individuals considered as Finnish are evaluated, individual discourses are mobilised. When individuals considered as ‘others’ are under scrutiny, cultural discourses work as sources of interpretation.