“Polish One’s Jade with Stones from Another Mountain”: Examining the Case of a New Zealand-Inspired Early Childhood Education Centre in China

Abstract

This article reports on a case study that investigated the implementation of New Zealand early childhood education (ECE) beliefs in a kindergarten in China and its implications. The study used a process of document analysis and individual interviews with teachers and parents to collect data. The incorporation of “Western” education approaches is not a new phenomenon in China. This paper uses empirical findings to highlight new concerns regarding this ongoing practice. It analyses the tensions emerging when a foreign curriculum and pedagogy are imported into a local setting without consideration of social and cultural contextual factors. It further scrutinises how imported and global beliefs and practices are responsive to, and sustain, valuable local knowledge that has been embraced and enacted for generations.