Iranian Journal of Curriculum Studies

Iranian Journal of Curriculum Studies

Recognizing Instances of Wonder in Early Childhood Curriculum: A Qualitative Analysis of Educators' Lived Experiences

Document Type : Original Article

Authors
1 PhD Student in Educational Administration, Department of Education, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, University of Kurdistan, Sanandaj, Iran.
2 Department of Education, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, University of Kurdistan, Sanandaj, Iran.
3 Associate professor, Department of Education, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, University of Kurdistan, Sanandaj, Iran.
Abstract
Preschool centers in Iranian Kurdistan face serious challenges in education due to unequal access to basic resources. This phenomenographic study explores preschool educators’ perceptions and experiences of wonder and its role in strengthening the preschool curriculum. The research field was Kurdistan Province, particularly the city of Marivan, and twelve educators were purposively selected through heterogeneous sampling to participate in semi-structured interviews. Data were analyzed using the seven-step method of Han and Ellis (2019) and the framework of Marton and Booth (1997). The findings revealed a hierarchical structure of five distinct categories: wonder as curiosity, exploratory thinking, reasoning, analytical thinking, and intuitive thinking. These categories were organized into an outcome space that mapped their interrelationships. In addition, four dimensions—awareness, interaction, purpose, and outcome—shaped the structure of this hierarchy. Theoretically, the study highlights wonder as a key element in the preschool curriculum, serving as a bridge between children’s curiosity and the development of their thinking processes.
Keywords

Subjects


Adzigergiou, Y., & Judson, G. (2017). Toward more effective storytelling for raising environmental awareness in young students. Journal of Advances in Education Research, 2(1), 12–18. https://doi.org/10.22606/jaer.2017.21002.
Akbari Seyed Lari, R., Salimi, J., & Sajjadi, E. (2025). Validation of components of wonder-infused education in the elementary school curriculum. Educational Measurement and Evaluation Studies, 15(49), 7–27. {In Persian}
Åkerlind, G. S. (2003). Growing and developing as an academic – implications for academic development, academia and academic work [Doctor of Philosophy]. University of Sydney
Berliner, D. C. (2013). Opportunity to teach: The joy of teaching what you know deeply, find fascinating, and want to share. In Wonder-Full Education (pp. 89-96). Routledge.
Bjerknes, A. L., Wilhelmsen, T., & Foyn-Bruun, E. (2024). A systematic review of curiosity and wonder in natural science and early childhood education research. Journal of Research in Childhood Education, 38(1), 50-65.
Bloch, M. (2020). Are religious beliefs counter-intuitive?. In Essays on cultural transmission (pp. 103-121). Routledge.
Cohen, L., Manion, L., & Morrison, K. (2017). Research methods in education. Routledge.
Conijn, J. M., Rietdijk, W., Broekhof, E., Andre, L., & Schinkel, A. (2022). A theoretical framework and questionnaire for wonder-full education. Journal of Curriculum Studies, 54(3), 423-444.
De Freitas, S., & Oliver, M. (2006). How can exploratory learning with games and simulations within the curriculum be most effectively evaluated?. Computers & education, 46(3), 249-264.
Di Paolantonio, M. (2019). Wonder guarding against thoughtlessness in education. Studies in Philosophy and Education, 38(3), 213–228. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11217-018-9626-3.
Diezmann, C., & Watters, J. (1998). Thinking by young children during argumentation: Use of evidence and logic. In Proceedings of 7th International Conference on Thinking. Prentice Hall.
Egan, K. (2003). Start with what the student knows or with what the student can imagine?. Phi Delta Kappan, 84(6), 443-445.
Egan, K., Cant, A. I., & Judson, G. (Eds.). (2013). Wonder-full education: The centrality of wonder in teaching and learning across the curriculum. Routledge.
Egan, K., Cant, A., & Judson, G. (2014). Wonder-full education: The centrality of wonder in teaching and learning across the curriculum. Routledge.
Eisner, E. W. (1996). Cognition and curriculum reconsidered. Sage.
Flook, L., Goldberg, S. B., Pinger, L., & Davidson, R. J. (2015). Promoting prosocial behavior and self-regulatory skills in preschool children through a mindfulness-based Kindness Curriculum. Developmental psychology, 51(1),44-53.
Geller, G., Caldwell, M., & Merritt, M. W. (2018). The cultivation of wonder in the premedical learning environment: nurturing ethical character in the early formation of health professionals. Journal of College and Character, 19(3), 229–235.
Geller, G., Steinman, C., Caldwell, M., Goldberg, H., Hanlon, C., Wonnell, T., & Merritt, M. W. (2020). Development and validation of a capacity for wonder scale for use in educational settings. Journal of Psychoeducational Assessment, 38(8), 982-994.
Gilbert, A., & Byers, C. C. (2017). Wonder as a tool to engage preservice elementary teachers in science learning and teaching. Science Education, 101(6), 907–928. https://doi.org/10.1002/sce.21300
Griffiths, F. (2013). The Talking Table: Sharing Wonder in Early Childhood education. In Wonder-Full Education (pp. 122-134). Routledge.
Hadzigeorgiou, Y. (2013). Reclaiming the value of wonder in science education. In Wonder-full education (pp. 40-65). Routledge.
Hadzigeorgiou, Y., & Hadzigeorgiou, Y. (2016). Wonder-Full’Science Education. Imaginative Science Education: The Central Role of Imagination in Science Education, 143-184.
Hakkarainen, P., & Ferholt, B. (2013). Creative imagination in play-worlds: Wonder-full early childhood education in Finland and the United States. In Wonder-full education (pp. 203-218). Routledge.
Han, F., & Ellis, R. A. (2019). Using phenomenography to tackle key challenges in science education. Frontiers in psychology, 5 (87) 1414.
Haralambous, B., & Nielsen, T. W. (2013). Wonder as a gateway experience. In Wonder-Full Education (pp. 219-242). Routledge.
Hazel, E., Conrad, L., & Martin, E. (1997). Exploring gender and phenomenography. Higher Education Research & Development, 16(2), 213–226. https://doi.org/10.1080/0729436970160208.
Hossieni, A. (2003). Assessment of Impact of Creativity Teaching Program on Teachers’ Knowledge, Attitude, and Skill. Journal of Educational Innovations, 2(3), 55-66.
i Paolantonio, M. (2019). Wonder guarding against thoughtlessness in education. Studies in Philosophy and Education, 38(3), 213–228. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11217-018-9626-3.
Israel, M., & Lash, T. (2020). From classroom lessons to exploratory learning progressions: Mathematics+ computational thinking. Interactive Learning Environments, 28(3), 362-382.
jarihi, A., fardanesh, H. and geramipour, M. (2015). Educational Plan Effects of Curiosity Booster on the 5th Grade Pupils’ Learning. Educational Psychology, 11(35), 181-196.
Khashin Daragi, H., Mahmoodi, F., Adib, Y., & Habibi, H. (2025). Designing a Curriculum Model Based on Creative Thinking for Sixth Grade Elementary Mathematic. Journal of Curriculum Studies, 20(76), 35-60.
L’Ecuyer, C. (2014). The wonder approach to learning. Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, 8, 764. https://doi.org/10.3389/ fnhum.2014.00764.
L’Ecuyer, C. (2014). The wonder approach to learning. Frontiers in human neuroscience, 8, 764.
Maroofi, Y., & Moludi, M. (2015). Effect of Synectics Teaching Method on Creativity Fostering in Students of Fifth-Grade Primary Schools. Teaching and Learning Research, 12(1), 31-44. doi: 10.22070/2.6.31
Marton, F. (2004). Phenomenography: A research approach to investigating different understandings of reality. In Qualitative research in education (pp. 141-161). Routledge.
Marton, F., & Booth, S. (1997). Learning and awareness. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
Miettinen, R. (2000). The concept of experiential learning and John Dewey's theory of reflective thought and action. International journal of lifelong education, 19(1), 54-72.
Mirdrikvand,   F., Geramipour,   M., Hosseini  Khah,  A., Kian,  M. (2025). Investigating   the   Current   Status   of Awe-Inspiring  Education  Dimensions from  the  Perspective  of  Elementary School   Teachers   and   Principals   in Khuzestan    Province,    Sociology    of Education. 11(3): 1-22.
Nilsson, M., Ferholt, B., & Lecusay, R. (2018). The playing-exploring child’: Reconceptualizing the relationship between play and learning in early childhood education. Contemporary issues in early childhood, 19(3), 231-245.
Opdal, P. M. (2001). Curiosity, wonder and education seen as perspective development. Studies in Philosophy and Education, 20(4), 331–344. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1011851211125.
Patton, M. Q. (2002). Qualitative research and evaluation methods. Sage.
Perry, N. C. (1981). Analytical thinking for children: Review of the Research. Analytic Teaching, 2(1).
Pour, H. Z., Hashemiyan, S. A., Samavi, S. A., & Fini, A. S. (2023). A Qualitative Recognition of Effective Elements in Decision Making Process in Deliberate Practice Curriculum. Journal of Curriculum Studies (JC S), 17(67), 171-206.
Robinson, C. (2022). The potential of ‘wonder’to engage children’s spirituality: It’s so much more than pondering. International Journal of Children's Spirituality, 27(3-4), 158-175.
Salimi, J., Amini Bagh, A., & Rezaei, K. (2025). Analysis of factors affecting the adoption of curriculum innovations among elementary school teachers based on the Concerns Based Adoption Model (CBAM). Teacher Professional Development. 10(2), 149–183. {In Persian}
Säljö, R. (1988). A text and its meanings: Observations on how readers construe what is meant from what is written. In The written world: Studies in literate thought and action (pp. 178-194). Berlin, Heidelberg: Springer Berlin Heidelberg.
Säljö, R. (1997). Talk as data and practice – a critical look at phenomenographic inquiry and the appeal to experience. Higher Education Research & Development, 16(2), 173–190. https://doi. org/10.1080/0729436970160205
Schinkel, A. (2017). On the educational importance of deep wonder. Journal of Philosophy of Education, 51(2), 538–553. https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-9752.12233.
Schinkel, A. (2019). Education as mediation between child and world: The role of wonder. Studies in Philosophy and Education, 39(5), 1–14. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11217-019-09687-8.
Schinkel, A. (2020). Wonder and education: On the educational importance of contemplative wonder. Bloomsbury Publishing.
Schmidt, A. B. (2022). Wonder-full Experiences in Music Education: Coordination in Wind Ensembles from an Edusemiotic Perspective. Waxmann Verlag.
Smith, T. D. (2021, April). Music education for surviving and thriving: Cultivating children’s wonder, senses, emotional wellbeing, and wild nature as a means to discover and fulfill their life’s purpose. In Frontiers in Education (Vol. 6, p. 648799). Frontiers Media SA.
Spall, S. (1998). Peer debriefing in qualitative research: Emerging operational models. Qualitative inquiry, 4(2), 280-292.
Trigwell, K. (2006). Phenomenography: An approach to research into geography education. Journal of geography in higher education, 30(2), 367–372. https://doi.org/10.1080/03098260600717489
Washington, H. (2018). Education for wonder. Education Sciences, 8(3), 125. https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci8030125 .
Wolbert, L., & Schinkel, A. (2020). What should schools do to promote wonder? Oxford Review of Education, 1–16. https://doi.org/10.1080/03054985.2020.1856648.
Zazkis, D., & Zazkis, R. (2013). Wondering about wonder in mathematics. In Wonder-full education (pp. 66-85). Routledge.
Zheng, D., Yenawine, P., & Chisolm, M. S. (2024). Fostering wonder through the arts and humanities: using visual thinking strategies in medical education. Academic Medicine, 99(3), 256-260.

  • Receive Date 24 October 2024
  • Revise Date 12 September 2025
  • Accept Date 23 September 2025