Preschool education in Benin: between normative framework and practice

Abstract

Preschool education takes place in nursery schools, whose main mission is to awaken and stimulate children. This mission is governed by regulatory texts and curricula that teachers are obliged to respect if the teaching-learning process is to run smoothly. But suspicions lead to the belief that teachers sometimes do more than what is expected of them, thus creating a gap between the normative framework and their practice. To verify this appearance, the present research has been initiated and aims to compare what is laid down in the texts and training programs that govern pre-school education and teaching practice in classroom situations. In order to achieve this objective, a methodological approach was followed, involving classroom observations during educational outing and interviews with kindergarten teachers. The results confirm our initial assumption that teachers sometimes go beyond the curriculum. Although we are in kindergarten, the density of the concepts taught makes us feel like we are in elementary school