Respect through different lenses: a cross-cultural curriculum study of China and Aotearoa New Zealand
Year: 2026
Type: article
Abstract: This paper explores how respect is interpreted and integrated into early childhood education curricula in China and Aotearoa New Zealand, through a comparative analysis of the Early Learning and Development Guidelinesearly childhood curricula and Te Whāriki: He whāriki mātauranga mō ngā mokopuna o Aotearoa Early childhood curriculum (Te Whāriki). Using a social constructionist lens, respect is conceptualised as contextually situated curricular construction. In China’s ELDG, respect is framed as a traditional moral virtue while also foregrounding children’s individuality, autonomy, and opportunities to have a voice. By contrast, Te Whāriki embeds respect within reciprocal relationships with people, places, and communities, underpinned by a synthesis of socio-cultural theories, Māori theory and Pasifika approaches. Rather than treating the two curriculumframeworks as binary opposites, the analysis highlights sharedground and culturally specific emphases shaped by distinctcontexts. The findings inform a culturally responsive understandingof respectful pedagogy and children’s rights in early childhoodeducation.
Authors: Jiangnan Wang, Phoebe Zhen Tong
Institution: University of Auckland
Language: English
Subfield: Education
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
SDG: Quality education
Open Access status: hybrid
OpenAlex ID: W7133650091