The Logic and Starting Point of Kindergarten Curriculum Construction: A Review

Abstract

Kindergarten curriculum construction occupies a pivotal position in early childhood education, as the decisions made regarding curriculum content, design logic, and foundational starting points carry far-reaching implications for children's development, learning trajectories, and long-term life outcomes. This review examines the theoretical and empirical literature on the logic and starting points that underpin kindergarten curriculum construction, synthesising diverse perspectives drawn from developmental psychology, sociocultural theory, comparative education, and curriculum studies. Using a narrative review approach, the paper analyses peer-reviewed and policy-related literature selected from major academic databases to identify recurrent curriculum logics, foundational starting points, and points of tension across international scholarship. Drawing on scholarly work spanning multiple national contexts, the review identifies four principal starting points for curriculum construction: the child as a developing being, sociocultural and community contexts, structured knowledge domains, and value-laden educational goals. Its main analytical contribution is to bring these starting points into a single comparative framework and to show how they interact with competing curriculum logics rather than functioning as isolated or mutually exclusive foundations for curriculum design. The dominant logics shaping curriculum design — including child-centred, subject-centred, play-based, and emergent curriculum logics — are analysed alongside the tensions and complementarities between these perspectives. Comparative analyses of curriculum models from Nordic, Anglo-Saxon, East Asian, and Reggio Emilia traditions illuminate how socio-political contexts shape curriculum philosophy and practice. Contemporary challenges, including the growing pressure for academic readiness, the demand for inclusive and equitable curricula, and the implications of digitalisation, are also addressed. The review concludes that a coherent and ethically grounded logic for kindergarten curriculum construction must integrate developmental appropriateness, cultural relevance, professional agency, and a holistic conception of the child as simultaneously a being and a becoming.