Patterns of dialogic teaching in kindergarten classrooms of Finland and the United Arab Emirates

The present study explored patterns of dialogic teaching in kindergarten classrooms across two countries with different educational systems and cultural backgrounds: Finland and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). In each country, transcripts of thirteen learning sessions were analyzed by identifying episodes of educational dialogue and categorizing them with regard to previously identified patterns of dialogic teaching. Results showed that teachers, rather than students, initiated dialogue. Further, teacher-initiated teaching dialogue of high quality was the dominant dialogue pattern. Comparisons across countries revealed less educational dialogue and more teacher-initiated questions in classrooms in the UAE, while more open space for sharing thoughts was found in kindergarten classrooms in Finland. The findings suggest variations in the structure of educational dialogue and instructional practices in kindergarten classrooms across contexts.