ERIC Number: EJ995467
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2013
Pages: 16
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0218-8791
EISSN: N/A
Reconceptualizing Kindergarten Education in South Korea: A Postcolonial Approach
Jahng, Kyung Eun
Asia Pacific Journal of Education, v33 n1 p81-96 2013
This article examines the relevance of postcolonialism in early childhood education, with special reference to the kindergarten education system of South Korea. Most of the research on Korean kindergarten education has conceptualized it as preparing children for their later schooling and helping them learn the moral and social values most desired by society. In order to problematize such a monolithic conceptualization of kindergarten education, this article intends to reconceptualize it by analysing Korean kindergarten education in the context of its postcolonial condition. Using a postcolonial framework and Foucault's concepts of power and discourse, this article provides significant insights into reclaiming kindergarten education as a historical, cultural, and discursive product. With a specific focus on different conceptions of "readiness" as an example, how kindergarten education in Korea has become hybrid through postcolonial experiences is further elaborated. (Contains 11 notes.)
Descriptors: Kindergarten, Foreign Countries, Educational Change, Social Values, Moral Values, Power Structure, Discourse Analysis, Educational History, Global Approach, School Readiness, Social Change
Routledge. Available from: Taylor & Francis, Ltd. 325 Chestnut Street Suite 800, Philadelphia, PA 19106. Tel: 800-354-1420; Fax: 215-625-2940; Web site: http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Evaluative
Education Level: Kindergarten
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: South Korea
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A