The idea of autonomy and its interplay with culture in child-centered education: evidence from practitioners in preschools in Saudi Arabia

Abstract

Using interview data, this paper explores issues which head teachers and teachers in a sample of Saudi kindergartens in Makkah face in implementing an adapted curriculum and pedagogy which appear to conflict with the local culture. The Saudi Self-Learning Curriculum for Kindergarten has been developed from Western models of child-centered education as a result of frameworks developed by the UNCRC, Education for ALL and UNESCO’s 2015 Sustainable Development Goals program 2015–2030. The Saudi Government’s 10th national development plan, entitled Vision 2030, aims to develop and diversify the country’s human resources and reduce dependency on oil reserves by creating a knowledge economy. The curriculum reforms are a response to the demand for classroom pedagogies that are based on the principle of respecting children's rights. Consequently, the core objective of preschool learning environments is to work with children in ways that maximize autonomy. This leads to a conundrum in local implementation since many of the central principles of Western early childhood education are contrary to fundamental Islamic positions. Yet equipping children with the skills they need to meet the demands of the twenty-first century is part of the government's stated aims for its educational reforms.