Contradictory cultural formation ideals in a time of increased emphasis on individualization – a cross-cultural study of kindergarten practices in China and Norway
Abstract
Sammendrag (English below):
Motsetningsfulle danningsideal i en tid med økt vekt på individualisering – en kryss-kulturell studie av barnehagepraksiser i Kina og Norge
Avhandlingen bidrar til kunnskap om danningsideal i barnehagepraksiser i ulike kulturelle kontekster i en historisk tid med økt vekt på individualisering. Spørsmålene som reises er, hva karakteriserer barnehagepraksiser i Kina og i Norge, og hvilke danningsideal kan spores i individualiserende og kollektiviserende praksiser i barnehager i de to landene?
Tilnærmingen til disse spørsmålene er en kryss-kulturell studie av to barnehager situert i ulike kulturelle kontekster – Lotus barnehage i Kina og Issoleien barnehage i Norge. Studiens fokus favner bredt, men har tre nedslagsfelt. Forskningsspørsmålene er utviklet og utforsket innen følgende tematiske fokus: 1) Artefakter som er utstilt på barnehagens vegger, 2) Pedagogiske tilnærminger til naturfaglige tema, og 3) Regulering av tiden i barnehagens praksis. De tre tematiske fokusene konstituerer ulike manifestasjoner av sosiale praksiser.
Den metodologiske tilnærmingen er flerstemmig video- og fotoframkalte intervju med barnehagelærere i begge barnehagene. Intervjuene er analysert fra kulturhistorisk aktivitetsteori med særlig inspirasjon fra Aleksej Leontiev og Anna Stetsenko.
Funnene indikerer at danningsidealene i begge barnehagene er mangefasetterte og i noen grad konfliktfulle. I den kinesiske barnehagen ble danningsideal som det selv-kultiverte og innbyrdes avhengige barnet, og det konkurransedyktige og individualiserte barnet identifisert. I den norske barnehagen ble danningsideal som det autentiske og unike barnet, det autonome og selv-regulerte barnet og barnet som borger med egne rettigheter identifisert.
Studien demonstrerer betydningen av å gjøre kulturelle små-skala studier for å forstå barnehagepraksiser i et historisk og kulturelt perspektiv. Den flerstemmige tilnærmingen bidrar til å problematisere og destabilisere tatt for gitte antakelser og praksiser i barnehager i begge land. Å spore danningsideal i barnehagenes praksiser bidrar videre til å utfordre begrensede fokus på kortsiktige læringsmål i barnehagene ved å spørre hvilke danningsideal som praksisene fremmer. Studien bidrar også til en mangefasettert forståelse av individualisering. Summary:
Contradictory cultural formation ideals in a time of increased emphasis on individualization – a cross-cultural study of kindergarten practices in China and Norway
The thesis aims contributes to knowledge regarding cultural formation ideals in kindergarten practices in different cultural contexts in a historical time of increased focus on individualization in early childhood education globally. The main questions addressed are two-folded: What characterizes the different kindergarten practices in kindergartens in China and in Norway, and which cultural formation ideals can be traced in the individualizing and collectivizing practices in kindergartens in the two countries?
The approach to these questions is a cross-cultural case study of two kindergartens situated indifferent cultural contexts—Lotus kindergarten in China, and Glacier Buttercup Kindergarten in Norway. The focus of the study is broad, but is limited to three impact areas. The research questions are elaborated and explored within the purview of three thematic topics: 1) Artefacts displayed on the walls in the kindergartens, 2) Teaching approaches in natural science events and 3) Regulation of time in everyday practices. The thematic topics constitute different manifestations of social practices.
The methodological approach is poly-vocal video- and photo-cued interviews with kindergarten teachers in both kindergartens. The interviews are analyzed from a cultural historical activity theoretical perspective especially inspired by Aleksei Leontiev and Anna Stetsenko.
The findings indicate that cultural formation ideals in both kindergartens are multifaceted and somewhat conflicting. In the Chinese kindergarten, traces of the self-cultivating and interdependent child were identified as well as the competitive and individualized child. In the Norwegian kindergarten, cultural formation ideals included the authentic and unique child, the autonomous and self-regulated child as well as the democratic citizen with human rights.
The study demonstrates the importance of doing small-scale cross-cultural studies in order to understand educational practice in a historical and cultural perspective. The poly-vocal approach contributes to destabilizing and problematizing taken for granted assumptions and practices in early childhood education in both countries. Tracing cultural formation ideals is furthermore contesting and opposing limited focus on short term learning goals and rather ask for what kind of human being early childhood education is promoting. Finally, the study contributes to a more multifaceted understanding of individualization.
Has parts
Paper 1: Birkeland, Åsta. Barnehagens vegger som danningsagenter - en komparativ analyse. I: Barnehagen som danningsarena. Fagbokforlaget 2012 ISBN 978-82-450-1153-1. s. 157-180Paper 2: Birkeland, Åsta. (2013). Kindergarten Teachers' educational ideals — tensions and contradictions. Cultural Historical Psychology 8(2), 45-53.
Paper 3: Birkeland, Å. (2019). Temporal settings in Kindergarten: a lens to trace historical and current cultural formation ideals? In Journal of European Early Childhood Education and Care Research, 27(1), 53-67. This article is not included due to copyright restrictions. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1080/1350293X.2018.1556534
Paper 4: Birkeland, Å. (2013). Research dilemmas associated with photo elicitation in comparative early childhood education research. Research in comparative and international education 8(4), 455-467. Reprinted by permission of SAGE Publications.