A comparative analysis of early childhood curricula in New Zealand, Taiwan and Australia, with a focus on dramatic play in children’s learning and development

Abstract

The aim for the dissertation is to investigate three early childhood curricula, to find how each is structured, and to find how each regards in dramatic play and its importance in children’s lives. Three curriculum documents have been explored: New Zealand, Taiwan, and Australia. Dramatic play is recognised in each, but is often included within the key conceptual strands and principles about how children learn and develop, and their connection to family and community. Content analysis was applied to explore the ideas in the three documents, and discourse analysis introduced by Gee (2011) was specifically used to investigate more closely selected sections of the three documents. Alongside the text analysis, an interview with a practitioner working in early childhood education broadened the application of dramatic play and ideas in the New Zealand curriculum document. The research found that the three curricula have similar aspirations for children but they are presented differently. A sense of belonging for children is important in three documents but whereas Taiwanese document takes a hierarchical view of the relationship between the child and context, the New Zealand document depicts the relationship as an interwoven mat in which children’s uniqueness is supported. The findings indicate that different views of children and early childhood education have influenced attitudes towards styles of play including the use of dramatic play. The Taiwanese document has been deeply influenced by Chinese traditions, which tend to see dramatic play narrowly. By contrast, the interview with the practitioner showed a connection to the core vision in the New Zealand document, that of free play supported by setting. The practitioner’s work maintained the position that within their play especially dramatic play, children have opportunities to make sense of their lives. Findings from the analysis of the documents weave together with findings from the interview to endorse the aspirations held in each of the countries’ documents for the development and education of children.