Values in Early Childhood Education (ECE) - A Cross-Cultural Comparative Study of Values for ECE Expressed in Policy Documents

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by hdkawk

This comparative study identifies core values expressed in Early Childhood Education (ECE) official policy documents from a sample of thirteen countries. Document analysis combined with content and thematic analysis groups ECE values into political and society-related values, educational values, and individual and relational values. Findings reveal shared values across countries alongside values that are specific to one or a few contexts. The study discusses value tendencies shaped by globalization and highlights convergence and divergence in policymaking worldwide.

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Pages24

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Values in Early Childhood Education (ECE): A Cross-Cultural Comparative Study of Values for ECE Expressed in Policy Documents Arve Gunnestad , Sissel Mørreaunet, and Sobh Chahboun (ﺻﺒﺢ ﺷﻬﺒﻮﻥ) Queen Maud University College for Early Childhood Education Jolene Pearson Bethel University ECNU Review of Education 2022, Vol. 5(4) 577–600 © The Author(s) 2022 Article reuse guidelines: [sagepub.com/journals-permissions](sagepub.com/journals-permissions)[ ](sagepub.com/journals-permissions)[DOI: 10.1177/20965311221109842](DOI: 10.1177/20965311221109842)[ ](DOI: 10.1177/20965311221109842)[journals.sagepub.com/home/roe](journals.sagepub.com/home/roe) 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. Corresponding author: Arve Gunnestad, Queen Maud University College for Early Childhood Education, Heimdal, Vardeveien 27, 7088, Norway. Email: [agu@dmmh.no](agu@dmmh.no) Creative Commons Non Commercial CC BY-NC: This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 License ([https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/)) which permits non-commercial use, reproduction and distribution of the work without further permission provided the original work is attributed as speciﬁed on the SAGE and Open Access page ([https://us.sagepub.com/en-us/nam/open-access-at-sage](https://us.sagepub.com/en-us/nam/open-access-at-sage)). Keywords Comparative education, early childhood education, policy documents, values Date received: 20 August 2021; revised: 16 December 2021, 20 February 2022; accepted: 5 April 2022 Introduction Few scholars have explored the values in Early Childhood Education (ECE) policy documents (Einarsdottir et al., 2015, p. 99) . Indeed, only a few studies have compared ECE values in the policy documents of two or three countries. For instance, Alvestad and Pramling Samuelsson (1999) compared Norwegian and Swedish ECE curricula, ﬁnding many similarities and variations according to the value perspective embedded in the curricula. At the time, the Norwegian plan had a Christian orientation, while the Swedish plan reﬂected a more democratic perspective (Hovdelien, 2012) . In a similar analysis, Soler and Miller (2003) focused on the way in which visions for early childhood were reﬂected in the curricula implemented in England, New Zealand (i.e., Te Whàriki curriculum), and Italy (i.e., the Reggio Emilia approach) . The authors found that the English Foundation Stage Curriculum narrowly focused on children’s preparation for school, whereas the values in the New Zealand curriculum were related to cultural diversity and biculturalism. Meanwhile, the Reggio Emilia curriculum emphasized the children as active partners with their own rights. More recently, Einarsdottir et al. (2015) proposed that ECE values are mentioned in international policy documents, which support several important values. For instance, UNESCO’s (2007)

FAQs

What is the purpose of the study on ECE policy documents?

The study identifies core values expressed in Early Childhood Education (ECE) official policy documents from thirteen countries.

How does the study analyze ECE values in the selected policies?

It uses document analysis along with content and thematic analysis, then categorizes identified values into three groups.

What do the findings reveal about ECE values across different countries?

The findings show values common across countries and values more specific to one or a few countries, highlighting convergence and divergence influenced by globalization.

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by hdkawk