Estonian preschool teachers' aspirations for curricular autonomy – the gap between an ideal and professional practice

Abstract

Establishing national framework curricula is a growing tendency in early childhood education internationally, and is considered to be part of the regulatory requirements framework for enhancing preschool teachers' professionalism. A topical issue in this context is whether and how teachers themselves see these practices as contributing to their professionalism and professional autonomy. We explored preschool teachers' views and expectations as developers and users of the Estonian national curriculum and preschool institutions' curriculum documents. Three hundred and forty-seven teachers across Estonia participated in the study. Data were gathered using semi-structured questionnaires. The findings revealed contradictions in the ways in which the new curriculum practices have contributed to the preschool teachers' professionalism. The respondents' views were contradictory in at least two aspects. First, teachers preferred to have a lot of curricular autonomy in general terms, but when it came to more specific aims, methods and content of education, they preferred to have specific guidelines. Secondly, although teachers preferred a curriculum compiled by internal practitioners rather than by external experts, they expressed a great deal of satisfaction with the current national curriculum compiled by external experts.

Keywords:

• early childhood education
• curriculum
• teacher professionalism
• teacher autonomy
• Estonia

Acknowledgements

Authors gratefully acknowledge support from the European Social Fund programme EDUKO (grant no TA/7610).

Notes on contributors

Maire Tuul is a lecturer and doctoral student in educational sciences at the Tallinn University. She has worked as a teacher and head in the preschool for 15 years and in her Doctoral thesis, she concentrates on the study of the early childhood teachers' conceptions of their pedagogical work.

Rain Mikser is a senior research fellow in the Institute of Educational Sciences, Tallinn University. His main areas of research are curriculum development, curriculum policy and teacher professionalism.

Evelyn Neudorf is a doctoral student in educational sciences at the Tallinn University. She has worked as a teacher, and lectures for seven years and, in her thesis, she has focused on curriculum and curriculum theory in the context of early childhood education.

Aino Ugaste is professor in the Institute of Educational Sciences, Tallinn University. The main area of her research is teacher professional development, parenting and multicultural education. She specialises in early childhood education and she has participated in several international research projects.