Preschool Teachers Perspectives on Math Curriculum Orientations: A cross-cultural study between Portugal and Sweden

Abstract: Early childhood education and care (ECEC) perspective changes across countries due to different political goals, culture, organizational factors and educational theories. Those differences are expressed in curriculum orientations that generate different curriculums, practices and interactions in the different preschool contexts. This study aims not only to analyse how the preschool math curricular orientations in two European countries are organized, but mostly intends to demonstrate in what extent is preschool teachers understanding about teaching and pedagogical awareness interfere with their perspectives about national curricular orientations. Portugal and Sweden are the countries represented in this study. Both preschool math curricular orientations were compared as well as other relevant background variables. Preschool teachers from each country were interviewed via zoom for data production. Results show that even though there are different perspectives about the math curricular orientations that generate different approaches and practices, both countries understand the importance of the child as an active constructor of their mathematical knowledge.