CONCEPTUAL FOUNDATIONS OF UNDERSTANDING BASIC CONCEPTS OF EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION IN UKRAINIAN AND GERMAN PEDAGOGICAL DISCOURSE

This study presents a comparative analysis of the conceptual foundations for understanding basic concepts of early childhood education in Ukrainian and German scientific and pedagogical discourse. The research addresses the urgent need for terminological harmonization in the context of Ukraine’s European integration processes and the necessity to align national educational concepts with European standards and approaches. The study develops an original methodology for comparative analysis of terminological apparatus through the prism of sociocultural and historical-pedagogical contexts. For the first time, a structural-functional classification of basic concepts of early childhood education has been implemented, dividing them into two groups: system-structural concepts that characterize the architecture of the early childhood education system and its institutional components, and dynamic-processual concepts that characterize functional and transformational aspects of the system. The research substantiates an evolutionary paradigm of conceptual approaches to interpreting early childhood education, demonstrating transformation from preparatory models to personality-oriented paradigms in both educational systems over the period from 1990 to 2025. Specific German terms without Ukrainian analogues have been identified, including “Frühkindliche Bildung”, “Erziehungspartnerschaft”, “Bildungsdokumentation”, “Kindertagespflege”, “Familienzentrum”, and “Fachberatung”, which reflect national pedagogical traditions, sociocultural features of educational systems, and different philosophical approaches to early childhood development. The study determines conceptual differences in understanding the quality of early childhood education, educational environment, and development trends as results of cultural traditions and socio-pedagogical contexts influence. A system of author’s definitions of key research concepts has been created, forming theoretical and methodological foundations for comparative studies in early childhood education. The practical significance lies in forming a terminological basis for harmonizing national understanding of early childhood education with European approaches in the context of Ukraine’s European integration transformations and creating conceptual prerequisites for effective implementation of progressive international experience.