Sorting shapes or connecting dots? Local enactments of globalization in early childhood education in Denmark

The study investigates how global processes affect kindergartens in Denmark, and focuses particularly on the implementation of the strengthened educational curriculum. The aim is to explore how the meeting between traditional Nordic values and global neoliberal educational approaches plays out in practice. The research question is: How is the strengthened educational curriculum adopted in Danish kindergartens, which have traditionally been based on Nordic educational ideals, and how can this be understood in light of globalisation?

The study shows that the strengthened curriculum plays a key role when kindergarten teachers legitimise their pedagogical practice. At the same time, the results show that it is interpreted and practiced very differently in the two kindergartens. One kindergarten focused on structured, adult-led pedagogy with school-oriented learning objectives, while the other kindergarten emphasised the children’s interests and more flexible learning environments. The study shows that educators navigate between different values depending on context, demographics and the cultural diversity in kindergarten.

The study is based on a larger research project that investigated kindergarten teachers’ pedagogical work in thirteen Danish kindergartens with children aged 0-6 years. The current study takes a closer look at two of the kindergartens that represented very different perspectives in terms of how the strengthened educational curriculum was interpreted and implemented. The researchers conducted qualitative group interviews with kindergarten teachers, and participatory observations in kindergarten. The data consist of transcribed audio recordings from the interviews, as well as field notes and pictures of rooms, materials and various activities from the kindergartens.

Hvid Thingstrup, S., Aabro, C., Prins, K., & Christensen, K. S. (2023). Sorting shapes or connecting dots? Local enactments of globalization in early childhood education in Denmark. Global Studies of Childhood, 13(3), 261–275.