Examining curriculum networks across three early childhood schools in Japan

Abstract

The Japanese early childhood education system has recently undergone curriculum reforms addressing the “shōichi puroburemu” (first-grade problem), where children experience difficulties during the transition from preschool to primary school. While government and media reports often frame this as a deficit in children’s readiness, our study considers whether the issue may be reconsidered by examining the differences in curriculum across three Japanese early childhood settings. Using an Actor Network Theory informed approach, we conducted observations and interviews in a hoikuen (nursery), yōchien (preschool), and shōgakko (elementary school). Our analysis reveals three key differences in curriculum networks across these settings: the materials used, the organization of time, and the distribution of agency among children and teachers. Rather than viewing the first-grade problem as children’s failure to adapt, our findings highlight how curriculum is enacted differently through these material, temporal, and agential dimensions, providing children distinct relational possibilities in different educational settings. By aligning our position with critiques of “achievement gap” narratives that misattribute systemic inequities as individual deficits, we suggest that current pre- to primary school reforms may be insufficient without addressing these fundamental network differences. This study contributes to international scholarship on curriculum transitions by emphasizing the relational complexity of early childhood education and the need for approaches that create more connected educational experiences across early childhood education systems.