Two-pronged comparative design 60

The policy analysis - covering historical and contemporary policies - will serve to identify the conceptual basis inherited from the past and clarify the emergence of themes and debates that shape the current policies in early childhood and primary education which, in turn, gives a certain configuration to the relationship between the two sectors in France and Sweden. By analysing the key policy documents, I will seek to identify the kind of policy in force regarding the relationship. The ‘policy documents’ are defined broadly to include legislation, official reports, circulars, government press releases, public speeches and debates, evaluation reports prepared by government agencies, and national curricula that reflect government policy, position and endorsement. The reason for analysing a broad range of documents is that a policy position on the relationship between early childhood and primary education may not be elaborated or clearly stated in typical government policy documents.

By conducting semi-structured interviews with key stakeholders and analysing their responses, I aim to understand what changes in the relationship they have experienced and what their views are on the changes. As stated in Chapter 2 (Literature Review), there exists little research on the relationship that seeks the views and experiences of those who are ‘recipients’ (teachers and directors of school), ‘mediators’ (e.g. teacher educators and

inspectors) and ‘developers’ (policymakers) of policy. Thus, this aspect can be regarded as one salient strength of the study. In addition, some of the information (including photographs) obtained through the observation undertaken as part of the pilot study in France and Sweden – but not included as the final design of the main study - is supplemented to illustrate the differences between the ECE and primary school settings that serve to enhance appreciation of the relationship between early childhood and primary education.

The table below indicates data and information sources to be used in the study.

Table 4.1: Data sources used in the study

Data type Data description Time periods Principal

references Policy

documents

Contemporary policy documents related to ECE and primary education France and Sweden

1989-2014 Chapter 5, 7 & Appendix Academic literature and technical reports

concerning ECE and primary education and their evolutions in France and Sweden

From late 20th century until 2014 Chapter 5, 7 & Appendix New empirical data

Semi-structured interviews with

policymakers, researchers/teacher

educators, inspectors, trade union

representatives, directors and teachers in France and Sweden

June/July/Sept 2014 (France) May 2014 (Sweden) Chapter 6, 7 & Appendix

Observation in (1) ECE environments (2) primary school settings for 6-year-olds

2010 (France) 2011 (Sweden)

Chapter 4, 7 & Appendix Cameron et al. (2008: 35) note that cross-national studies provide an opportunity to draw attention to taken-for-granted assumptions about the conceptualisation and operation of issues and concerns held in common across countries. They note: ‘By investigating the process by which policy agendas are developed and implemented in two or more countries, it is possible to throw light on how and why it came to be that different paths were adopted and in so doing, identify how, by learning from each other, improvements to policy and practice might be made’. The authors also claim that such studies serve as a method of assessing progress in policy and practice, making possible the questioning of key concepts and assumptions held in each country. In a similar vein, Alexander (2001) states that ‘[O]ne of the values of comparativism is that it alerts one to the way that the apparently bedrock terms in a particular discourse are nothing of the sort’ (Alexander, 2001: 512). In her study that compared nurseries in Italy, Spain and the UK, Penn (1997) refers to the strength of comparative design as enabling a deeper reflection on everyday practices that are normally

taken for granted through exploration of how other people in other settings work with young children (Penn, 1997: 4).

I have chosen to compare France and Sweden because of the similarities and differences between the two countries in ways that shape the relationship between early childhood and primary education. Both countries have a long tradition - since the 19th century - of providing early childhood and primary education services. In France, the first salle d’asile, which is the precursor of the école maternelle, was established in 1828; and the first crèche was set up in 1844. The salle d’asile was renamed école maternelle in 1848, and was integrated into the national education system in 1868.21 Primary education for children ages 6-13 was free and compulsory as of 1882 (Eurydice, 2009/2010). In Sweden, the first crèche and kindergarten (barnträdgårde) were established in 1854 and in the 1890s respectively (Martin Korpi, 2007). Primary school (folkskola) was introduced in 1842; and a decision was taken in 1895 to make 3-year primary schooling as the basis for further schooling, i.e. lower secondary education (Eurydice, 2009/2010). France and Sweden have strong concerns about linking early childhood and primary education: the former through learning cycles (cycles d’apprentissage) that until very recently connected the last year of ECE and the first years of primary education;22 and the latter through curricular continuity and the establishment of pre-school classes for 6-year-olds that acts as a bridge between the two stages of education. Furthermore, there are high rates of public provision of ECE in both France and Sweden, particularly in the age group 3-6.

Meanwhile, France and Sweden display a number of differences, which can highlight the taken-for-granted assumptions and practices existing in each country. For example, the statutory age for compulsory education is age 6 and 7 in France and Sweden respectively. This raises the question as to when and why each country has come to designate a particular transition age. As mentioned in Chapter 1, France has a split ECE system while Sweden has an integrated system. According to OECD (2006), France and Sweden apply contrasting approaches to relating early childhood and compulsory education. OECD (2006) designated France as the ‘pre-primary approach’ whereby ECE tends to be formal and is shaped by the demands of compulsory schooling; and considered Sweden to take the ‘social pedagogical approach’, which promotes a holistic attention to children’s development, learning and well- being, aiming to bring the influence of early childhood approach into at least the first years of compulsory schooling.

21_www.inrp.fr

22 _{In July 2013, a new decree on modifying the learning cycles was adopted. Now, the first learning}

cycle consists of the first to third year of the école mtaternelle (ages 3-5) and the second learning cycle (called the fundamental learning cycle) comprises the first to third year of the école élémentaire (ages 6- 8).

It is important to be aware of some challenges in designing and undertaking cross-national studies as there exist cultural and linguistic differences between countries. Based on evidence of cross-national health research, Harknesss (2004) alerts us to profound cultural and linguistic differences of interpretations of research and research instruments by researchers and respondents. Cross-national studies are likely to encounter problems of a lack of conceptual equivalence between different cultures with different languages. Drawing from their research on schools involving England and Finland, Vulliamy and Webb (2009) found that certain words, such as ‘whole class teaching’ or ‘group work’ had very different meanings within the English and Finnish education systems due to the differing cultural contexts of schooling. Another example is the term ‘pedagogy’. In England, pedagogy normally concerns teaching strategies, and is rarely referred to outside the context of the classroom and formal education. However, in Sweden, and much of continental Europe, pedagogy can be understood as ‘education in its broadest sense’, providing the overall support to children’s holistic development, and is applied to a much broader set of services (Petrie et al, 2009). Preschool education (éducation préscolaire) in France refers to the education of children aged 2/3 to 6 provided in école maternelle, whereas in Sweden, it refers to the education of children aged 1 to 7 provided in preschools (förskola) for children ages 1 to 6 and preschool class (förskolaklass) for ages 6 to 7. Cameron et al. (2008: 35-36) draw attention to the value of using the first language term (and not a translation) to ‘protect’ the particular meanings embraced in the term and to understand the concepts and methods of a given country in detail before drawing out points of comparison.