Document Type

Article

Abstract

Purpose

This comparative study identifies core values expressed in Early Childhood Education (ECE) official policy documents from a sample of thirteen countries.

Design/Approach/Methods

This study employs document analysis as well as content and thematic analysis. ECE values identified in the policy documents are categorized into three groups: political and society-related values, educational values, and individual and relational values.

Findings

Document analysis reveals the values that are common across countries and those that are more specific to just one or a few countries at most. This study discusses the characteristics of these values from the perspective of globalization. In doing so, this comparative study illustrates and discusses the tendencies for both convergence and divergence in ECE values in policymaking worldwide.

Originality/Value

The findings of this study expand our understanding of the values in ECE policy documents in the sampled countries, offering insights into ECE objectives and policymaking in various countries.

Department(s)

Education

Publication Title

ECNU Review of Education

Volume

5

Issue

4

First Page

577

Last Page

600

Publication Date

2022

DOI

10.1177/20965311221109842

ISSN

2096-5311

E-ISSN

2632-1742

Comments

Deposit in this repository by permission of a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/).

Original publication in Gunnestad, A., Mørreaunet, S., Chahboun (صبح شهبون), S., & Pearson, J. (2022). Values in early childhood education (ECE): A cross-cultural comparative study of values for ECE expressed in policy documents. ECNU Review of Education (Online), 5(4), 577–600. https://doi.org/10.1177/20965311221109842

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