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This article examines a group of New Zealand preschool teachers' perspectives on their early childhood curriculum -Te Whãriki: He Whãriki Maatauranga mo ngaa Mokopuna o Aotearoa (Ministry of Education, 1996). In this discussion we focus on the teachers' understandings of the meaning, value and focus of this curriculum document. This is part of a small-scale qualitative study based on in-depth interviews with eight and nine preschool teachers undertaken in each of three countries -Norway, Sweden and New Zealand (during 1999-2002). We conclude this article with a comparative discussion of some of the similarities and differences between the three countries. RÉSUMÉCet article porte sur les opinions d'un groupe d'enseignants du préscolaire de Nouvelle-Zélande sur le programme d'éducation préscolaire Te Whãriki: He Whãriki Maatauranga mo ngaa Mokopuna o Aotearoa (Ministry of Education, 1996). Dans cette discussion nous nous concentrons sur la compréhension des enseignants du sens, de la valeur et du coeur de ce programme. Ceci constitue une partie d'une étude qualitative à petite échelle, basée sur des entretiens en profondeur avec huit ou neuf enseignants du préscolaire et menée dans trois pays: la Norvège, la Suède et la Nouvelle-Zélande (de 1999 à 2002. Nous terminons cet article par une discussion comparative de certaines similarités et différences entre les trois pays. RESUMENEste artículo examina las perspectivas de un grupo de profesores Neo Zelandeses de preescolar con respecto a sus programas de estudio de educación temprana -Te Whãriki: He Whãriki Maatauranga mo ngaa Mokopuna o Aotearoa (Ministerio de Educación, 1996). La discusión se concentra en el entendimiento de los maestros sobre el significado, valor y enfoque del programa de estudio. Esta discusión es parte de un estudio cualitativo de pequeña escala basado en entrevistas detalladas con ocho o nueve profesores de preescolar, las cuales se llevaron a cabo en tres países -Noruega, Suecia y Nueva Zelanda durante 1999-2002. El artículo concluye con una discusión comparativa de algunas similitudes y diferencias entre los tres países.

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Early childhood care and education services in New Zealand have experienced major policy reforms since 1984. Life history interviews were carried out over a two-year period to obtain insight into the impact of the major reforms on the lives of eight kindergarten teachers. This article looks at the teachers' own perceptions of the changes and how they often felt 'overtaken' or 'misplaced' within the reforms. The teachers' stories are positioned within an environment of competing discourses about education, where newly established discourses worked to relocate or misplace the teachers.

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Children's bodies occupy a culturally contested space in the early childhood arena. In New Zealand, children's bodies have increasingly become the focus of regulation. The early childhood centre has become a site of constant surveillance, turning teachers into 'disciplinary individuals' who are internally controlled by their own behaviour. This increased regulation mirrors that of other Western contexts. In contrast, Japanese early childhood education still places children's bodies at the centre of preschool life. Shared embodied experiences serve to consolidate certain traits and qualities identified as Japanese and intimate physical contact is valued. This article is based on ethnographic research conducted at an early childhood centre in New Zealand and a kindergarten in Japan. We argue that in New Zealand early childhood circles, the child's body has become the focus of civilising routines which limit physical touch between adults and children, and minimise attention to the body. Asian early childhood education contexts are often depicted as overly controlling. However, we suggest that while Japanese children's bodies may be subject to routine and management, they are viewed through a lens of nostalgia and innocence which allows for greater freedom of the corporeal.