Social Ecology of a Chinese Kindergarten: Where culture grows

​This book is the outcome of a joint collaboration between East China Normal University and the University of Luxembourg, initiated by the Center of Ideas for the Basic Education of the Future (IBEF), and focuses on kindergartens in China from a cultural psychology perspective.

By coupling young scholars from diverse cultural backgrounds as research tandems, this book uses an innovative methodological method to reveal a deeply immersing research perspective of the often complicated issues in the Chinese social reality, where long historical tradition and strong motivation for a ＂modernized＂ future are fused together and continuously evolve itself into a vibrant and intricate landscape. Meanings and values consciously or unconsciously promoted and conducted in the kindergarten are semiotic devices and they mediate children’s and educator’s daily behaviours and activities, which are constantly navigating among different social institutions and crossing the border of kindergarten.

The book discusses the process of children’s socialization in the kindergarten from different angles such as cultural objects, moral education, conflict negotiation, children’s drawing analysis and the role of Lego in numeracy development. It also provides an overview of basic educational needs in Chinese kindergartens as well as three commentaries to provide background information and to add a reflective angle for the readers. By reading the book, readers will hopefully go through a constantly transforming process between familiarizing and de-familiarizing along with the research tandem and develop their own understanding of the complex landscape of the Chinese kindergarten and its children as developing subjects constantly living and transcending the context.

​Shuangshuang Xu is a PhD candidate in Department of Communication and Psychology, Aalborg University, Danmark. She completed her MA study in Department of Psychology and Cognitive Science, East China Normal University. Her main research interest is integrating philosophy, art and psychology to explore methodological and theoretical issues in cultural psychology. Now she is working on using drama in education to facilitate children’s social and cultural development.

Giuseppina Marsico is Associate Professor of Development and Educational Psychology at the University of Salerno (Italy), Affiliated Researcher at Centre for Cultural Psychology, Aalborg University (Denmark), Visiting Professor at Ph.D Programme in Psychology, Federal University of Bahia, (Brazil) and Honorary Associate Professor in School of Psychology University of Sidney (Australia). She is an 20 years experienced researcher, with a proven international research network.