Reconceptualizing kindergarten education in South Korea: a postcolonial approach

Abstract

This article examines the relevance of postcolonialism in early childhood education, with special reference to the kindergarten education system of South Korea. Most of the research on Korean kindergarten education has conceptualized it as preparing children for their later schooling and helping them learn the moral and social values most desired by society. In order to problematize such a monolithic conceptualization of kindergarten education, this article intends to reconceptualize it by analysing Korean kindergarten education in the context of its postcolonial condition. Using a postcolonial framework and Foucault's concepts of power and discourse, this article provides significant insights into reclaiming kindergarten education as a historical, cultural, and discursive product. With a specific focus on different conceptions of “readiness” as an example, how kindergarten education in Korea has become hybrid through postcolonial experiences is further elaborated.