Being, belonging and becoming: some worldviews of early childhood in contemporary curricula

Since the last part of the 20th century, early years provision has seen a steady increase with more governments developing policies and allocating funds for the out-of-home care and education of young children. The expansion of early childhood provision and the economic investment made for such provision has gradually led to the introduction of curricula in order to establish the benefits and returns of the provision. Some of the curricula emphasise wellbeing, belongingness and connectedness with others, community and place; others are outcomes-based developmental models that celebrate individuality, personal achievement and children‟s becoming. In this paper, I will explore the philosophical underpinnings of four contemporary curricula to consider the worldviews of early childhood upheld and promoted by them. I will then draw parallels with the Athenian and Spartan educational systems and models in ancient Greece to consider the implications of the worldviews of childhood held in contemporary curricula with regard to the demands and “knowns” of today‟s society and to the “unknowns” and unforeseeable needs of future generations. Finally, I will conclude with the argument that it is the pedagogy, embraced by early years professionals, which is the mediating force for reconciling different worldviews of early childhood embraced in contemporary curricula.