Comparative Analysis of the Political Identity of the Preschool Curriculum of China, Singapore, and Iran and Understanding Their Ideological Bases (Dominant Ideology)

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

1 Assistant farhangyan university, education teacher

2 تهران - بهارستان- گلستان کوچه یکم

3 Secretary of Education

10.48310/mtt.2024.15605.1050

Abstract

This study aims to determine which kind of political orientations (joint-international/local-local/ integrated) the curricula of China, Singapore, and Iran have and how similar or different these orientations are. Among the components of the curriculum, identity, and among the types of identities, the political identity of the curriculum of these countries were selected. The goal was to find out what the official political approach governing the curriculum of the observed society is, and what is its direction? To achieve this goal in implementation, Brady’s comparative method was used to recognize the political identity of the curriculum of these countries and compare them. According to this method, the data were extracted and analyzed in four stages: description, interpretation, juxtaposition, and comparison. The results indicated that the curriculum of China has a local/international integrated approach, which leads them to the philosophical basis of internal realism. The curriculum of Singapore has a joint international approach and gives the identity of their curriculum a global realism attitudinal basis. But Iran's curriculum has a unique local approach, the philosophical basis of which is the idealist approach. Each country determines the orientation of its curriculum according to its situation and governance requirements. Even the countries that choose an international curriculum, it is not pure compliance, but they choose according to their sovereign attitude

Keywords


Atashbahar, O., Sari, A. A.,  Takian, A., & Olyaeemanesh, A. (2021). Integrated early childhood development policy in Iran: A qualitative policy process analysis. BMC Public Health, 21(1), 1-13..
Chin, T.-Y., & Poon, C. L. (2014), ‘Design and implementation of the National Primary Science Curriculum: A partnership approach in Singapore’, In Tan, A. L., Poon, C. L. & Lim, S. S. L. (eds), Inquiry into the Singapore science classroom: Research and practices, Dordrecht: Springer: 27-46.
Chinese Ministry of Education. (2001). Guidelines for kindergarten education (trial version)
http://www.moe.gov.cn/srcsite/A06/s3327/200107/t20010702_81984.html.
Chinese Ministry of Education. (2012). Early learning and development guidelines for children aged 3 to 6 years.
Early Childhood Development Agency [ECDA]. (2013a). A good start for every child: About us. https:// ecda.gov.sg/pages/aboutus.aspx.
Early Childhood Development Agency [ECDA]. (2013b). Early years development framework for child care centres. https://www.ecda.gov.sg/Educators/Pages/Early-Years-Development-Framework-(EYDF)- Educarers-Guide.aspx.
Feng, X. (2017). An overview of early childhood education in the People’s Republic of China. In N. Rao, J. Zhou, & J. Sun (Eds.), Early childhood education in Chinese societies (pp. 55–70).
Hamilton, A., Jin, Y., & Krieg, S. (2019). Early childhood arts curriculum: A cross-cultural study. Curriculum Studies, 51(5), 698–714.
Jiang, Y., Zhang. B., Zhao.Y., & Zheng, Ch. (2021). China’s Preschool Education Toward 2035: Views of Key Policy Experts. /. ECNU Review of Education ª The Author(s) 2021, 5(2) 345–367.
Jolley, R., & Zhang, Z. (2012). How drawing is taught in Chinese infant schools. International Journal of Art & Design Education, 31(1), 30–43.
Li, H. (2007). Story approach to integrated learning: The curricula and pedagogies. Oxford University Press.
Liu, Y. (2018). An impressive kindergarten—A case study of the difficulties in entering a kindergarten under the background of “comprehensive two-child” policy [in Chinese]. Theory and Practice of Education, 38 (17), 27–29.
Nyland, B., & Ng, J. (2016). International perspectives on early childhood curriculum changes in Singapore and Australia. European Early Childhood Education Research Journal, 24(3), 465–476.
Ornstein, A. C., & Hunkins, F. P. (2018). Curriculum: Foundations, principles, and issues (7th ed.). Pearson.
Sharifian, Sh. (2018). Early childhood education in Iran: progress and emerging challenges. International Journal of the Whole Child 2018, 3(1), 30-37.
Singapore Department of Statistics, Prime Minister’s Office, Ministry of Home Affairs, Immigration & Checkpoints Authority, & Ministry of Manpower. (2020). Population in brief, https://www.population.gov.sg/files/media centre/publications/pib-2020-final.pdf.
Singapore Ministry of Education (2018). 21st century competencies, https://www.moe.gov.sg/education/education-system/21st-century-competencies.
Siska, F., Irwan, I., Melia, Y., & Meldawati, M. (2022). Comparison study of elementary school social studies curriculum in Singapore and Hongkong. Pedagogik Journal Pendidikan, 9(1), 1-14.
Tan, C. T. (2017). Enhancing the quality of kindergarten education in Singapore: Policies and strategies in the 21st century. International Journal of Child Care and Education Policy, 11(7), 1-22.
Yang, W., Xu, P., Liu, H., & Li, H. (2022). Neoliberalism and sociocultural specificities: A discourse analysis of early childhood curriculum policies in Australia, China, New Zealand, and Singapore. Early Child Development and Care, 192(2), 203–209.
Yong, W., & Li, H. (2022). Curriculum hybridization and cultural glocalization: A scoping review of international research on early childhood curriculum in China and Singapore. ECNU Review of Education, 5(2), 299–327.