Project Spotlight: Global Perspectives in Early Care and Education

Project Description:

Each week, we focus on a theme (e.g., child development centers, private preschools, and public kindergartens in Taiwan and North Carolina). ECU groups select an interview topic, craft questions tied to course concepts, and by the end of the fourth virtual meeting, conduct their interviews with international peers. Groups then report back with a concise thematic analysis: they code key ideas, identify patterns and differences, connect findings to cultural values and policy contexts, and discuss implications for early childhood practice. Throughout the project, students also submit International Virtual Exchange reflections documenting what surprised them, how their perspectives shifted, and what they learned about communicating and collaborating interculturally.

Learning Outcomes/Goals:

• Demonstrate intercultural competence by using adaptive communication techniques to engage respectfully and effectively with international peers.
• Analyze cultural influences on early childhood education by interpreting how identity/cultural background and individualist–collectivist and dependence–independence orientations shape beliefs, relationships, and developmental expectations for young children.
• Compare early childhood practices across contexts by examining curriculum approaches, pedagogy, classroom arrangements, and communication goals