Play and/or learning: Comparative analysis of dominant concepts in national curriculum guidelines for early childhood education in Norway, Finland, China, and Hong Kong

Play and/or learning: Comparative analysis of dominant concepts in national curriculum guidelines for early childhood education in Norway, Finland, China, and Hong Kong

• Hu, Aihua Western Norway University of Applied Sciences
• Ødegaard, Elin Eriksen Western Norway University of Applied Sciences

International Perspectives on Education and Society, 37(0), 207-224, 2019

JAI Press Ltd.

2019

• D Curriculum
  • DC Pre-Primary Education Programmes
• P Social Context of Education
  • PB Comparative Education

Early Childhood Education Curriculum Guidelines Content Analysis

• Norway
• Finland
• China
• Hong Kong

• 1997.7 onwards

• Pre-Primary Education

This chapter comparatively analyzes the most recent national curriculum guidelines for early childhood education (ECE) in Norway, Finland, China, and Hong Kong. By exploring the aims and dominant concepts in the guidelines, we aspire to better understand how governments of different cultures utilize the dominant concepts, that is, play and learning to manage and facilitate ECE and children’s development. The major data sources are the national curriculum guidelines for ECE and major policies directing and/or influencing the formulation of the guidelines. Content analysis and comparative analysis methods are utilized to analyze the documents. Through analysis and comparison, this chapter aims to inspire policy makers, practitioners, and interested parties in the four cultures and internationally to understand and reflect on their own ECE so that ECE can be better approached in their own culture as well as in settings of diverse cultures.
[Copyright of International Perspectives on Education and Society is the property of JAI Press Ltd.]

• English

Journal Articles

• 14793679

• 10.1108/S1479-367920190000037016

https://bibliography.lib.eduhk.hk/bibs/e6d8ce40

2020-06-08