https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1560-1154
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ABSTRACT
Art education is important for young children, yet the place of the arts in early childhood teacher education (ECTE) has been an unresolved issue. Framed within the conception of curriculum balance, the study aimed to navigate and make sense of the diverse perspectives on how early childhood pre-service teachers should be taught the arts. In the context of ECTE in China, qualitative data were collected from 10 early childhood teacher educators from six universities, 16 early childhood in-service teachers from 11 kindergartens, and four groups of pre-service teachers from four ECTE programmes. Reflexive thematic analysis generated a multi-continuum model that illustrates multi-faceted and gradational curriculum balance in terms of the place of the arts in ECTE.
Data availability statement
The data that support the findings of this study are available on request from the corresponding author. The data are not publicly available due to their containing information that could compromise the privacy of research participants.
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).
Ethics statement
Ethical clearance for the research has been granted from the institutional committee.
Additional information
Funding
Notes on contributors
Qilong Zhang
Qilong Zhang is Lecturer at the College of Education of United Arab Emirates University.
Weiying Wu
Weiying Wu is Lecturer at the College of Preschool Education of Jiangsu Second Normal University.
Ke Jiang
Ke Jiang is PhD candidate at the Faculty of Education and Social Work of the University of Auckland.
Cuiping Shan
Cuiping Shan is Associate Professor at the College of Preschool Education of Jiangsu Second Normal University.