Rethinking quality in Early Childhood Education ( ECE ) from Chinese children's perspectives
Engaging with, resisting and reimagining institutional and social norms
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 21444962 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Xiaohua Li (0009-0005-8645-9975, School of Education Science Shanxi University Taiyuan Shanxi China), Wanyue Chen (0009-0006-3468-0982, Research Center for International Education Innovation East China Normal University Shanghai China), Zhuoran Chen (0000-0002-3974-3632, School of Education University of Nottingham Nottingham UK), Shuying Li (0000-0001-6706-4904, China National Academy of Educational Sciences Beijing China), Yuwei Xu (0000-0003-4210-9963, School of Education University of Nottingham Nottingham UK) |
| Year | 2026 |
| Publication date | 2026-07-06 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | British Educational Research Journal (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0141-1926 • E-ISSN: 1469-3518 |
| Publisher | Wiley (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1002/berj.70244 |
| OpenAlex | W7167528773 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 63 |
While the concept of ‘quality’ in Early Childhood Education (ECE) has been widely theorised, it remains largely shaped by adult‐centric perspectives and globalised frameworks that prioritise standardisation and developmental outcomes. This paper explores how Chinese children understand and experience quality in ECE. By inviting children to respond to the question ‘What is a good kindergarten?’, the study investigates how they interpret quality through their daily experiences, routines and responses to rules and social norms within kindergarten settings. The research involved 64 children aged approximately 6 years from two public kindergartens in two developed Chinese cities. Data were collected through a two‐stage process: individual interviews prompted by children's drawings and group interviews following collaborative block‐building activities. Findings suggest that children construct quality not only through alignment with institutional norms, such as national ceremonies and classroom routines, but also through acts of resistance, emotional expression and imaginative reconstruction of space. For those children, quality is not defined by fixed standards, but is something they experience when they feel safe, recognised and free to make choices. Their narratives highlight the significance of relational care, spatial flexibility and the freedom to exercise agency. This study challenges the notion that quality can be universally defined or externally measured. Instead, it proposes an approach to quality grounded in children's lived experiences. In doing so, it contributes to efforts to rethink early childhood policy in ways that value children's perspectives, support their agency and attend to the social and cultural contexts in which they learn and grow
Agency (philosophy) · Construct (python library) · Early childhood · Early childhood education · Flexibility (engineering) · Individualism · Narrative · Qualitative research · Quality (philosophy) · Social constructionism · Children's Rights and Participation · Early Childhood Education and Development · Innovative Education and Learning Practices
Beyond Quality in Early Childhood Education and Care
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Thematic Analysis
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The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development’s International Early Learning and Child Well-being Study
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Making meaning
Kindergarten children’s perceptions of the social unrest in Hong Kong
Public perceptions of child physical abuse in B eijing
Early achievement in rural China
String Figuring young children's perspectives of quality in English early childhood education and care
Young children's right to be heard on the quality of their education
The quality of interaction with children in collective play
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Governance, accountability and the datafication of early years education in England
Making it explicit – Sustained shared thinking dialogue as a way to explore children's perspectives on quality in German early childhood education and care
Voice’ is not enough
Listening to young children with disabilities
China’s military strategy for a ‘new era’
Infantographies
Turning a Chinese Kid Red
The teacher's soul and the terrors of performativity
Investing in Preschool Programs
| Citation velocity | historical |
|---|---|
| Highly cited | No |