Early childhood education and care in South America — a new curricular wave?

Abstract

ABSTRACT In recent decades, a global consensus has emerged that acknowledges that Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) requires systemic, cross-sectoral approaches. In this context, integrated early childhood approaches are flourishing in South America. Although these policies have been successful in many aspects, ECEC provision in the region continues to be fragmented. In this exploratory article, we analyse the role of ECEC curricula in the conceptual integration of ECEC systems in South America. We focus on the ‘regulative intent’ of curriculum frameworks to explore the extent to which these policy instruments support systemic change. Our analysis draws on an extensive revision of documentary sources and interviews with key local informants in Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Paraguay, Peru and Uruguay. We reconstruct the institutional architecture of ECEC provision in each country and examine curricula against this background. Our findings highlight the emergence of a new curricular wave in the region that contributes to integrated approaches. Recent curriculum frameworks move away from sectoral intents and towards more comprehensive and cohesive regulative intents. We call for a reconceptualisation of ECEC curricula from a whole-systems perspective that supports the holistic nature of the education and care of young children.