Recent trends in early childhood curriculum: The case of greek and english national curricula

Abstract

In the light of the increasing attention that is paid to curriculum issues in early childhood education, the study focuses on recent early childhood curriculum policy in Greece and England. Our particular interest is in identifying the contemporary views on the child, on early childhood institutions and on teachers embedded in the curriculum frameworks of Greece and England. We argue, like others (Oberhuemer 2005; Dahlberg et al. 1999) that the way in which childhood is perceived is deeply embedded in a specific historical, cultural, geographical, economic and political context, in certain sets of societal norms and values. Thus, we are seeking to look critically into discourses on childhood and associated policies, recognising that the relationship between discourse and policy is not linear, but that each influences the other (Woodrow and Press 2007). We consider that curriculum analysis is political in essence and that the curriculum is not a neutral document but a cultural artefact (Duhn 2006). © Springer Science+Business Media B.V. 2010.