Exploring 5 Years of Research on the Conceptualization of Child Participation from the Perspective of ECE Philosophy: A Systematic Literature Review

This systematic literature review aims to highlight the importance of early childhood education philosophy in boosting the holistic development in children through their participation in learning and facilitation process. Th method of this review begins with the evaluation processes involved doing a systematic search, followed by ethically assessing and determining the suitability of articles on child participation in preschool or kindergarten. This review was also done by reviewing and combining information from 119 articles that were analyzed from several electronic databases such as Scopus, ScienceDirect, and ERIC. In the final process, there were 32 papers successfully selected and recorded in a 5-year period, from mid-2019 until early 2024 in order to answer the research questions. The analysis findings indicate that several articles examining the participation of children through different instruments and observations. 18 out of 32 articles adhere to an educational philosophy grounded in branch perennialism, where teachers believed the significance of knowledge and cognitive abilities for children during their learning. Furthermore, there are several challenges in implementing educational philosophy in early childhood education, with the primary challenge being that teachers find it challenging to enhance individual development while engaging in preschool activities. This study's results will offer opportunities for future studies to expand suitable strategies in empowering children through their participation in preschool by applying the appropriate philosophy.


Introduction
Every aspect of a child's day is influenced by their philosophy, from the way the classroom is organized to the role that teachers play in directing the activities of the children.It even affects the interactions and conversation that develops between teacher and children.
Vol 13, Issue 1, (2024) E-ISSN: 2226-6348 Teachers will always include children in polite, reciprocal discussions about the day and things they would want to explore if the centre upholds underlying values like respect (Early Learning Centre, 2019).Despite their little size, they have the right to openly express their ideas, beliefs, and opinions as well as to engage in society, especially when it comes to issues that directly affect them.Taking into consideration their age and maturity, their voices need to be given careful consideration (UNICEF, 2019).Not surprisingly, children are an essential part of society where they are considered as national assets and the future backbone of the country's development.This is due to the fact that when looking at the child population in most countries, this group has a high percentage and number.Upon closer review, children are regarded as the most crucial demographic population for the advancement of the nation.In 2022, there was a total of 9.19 million (28.1%) children out of 32.65 million total Malaysian population (Department of Statistics Malaysia, 2022), 28.1% of children aged 0-14 years out of 60.14 million population in South Africa (Department of Statistics South Africa, 2022), 30.73 million children out of 272.68 million population in Indonesia (Indonesian Central Statistics Agency, 2022).In addition, looking further to Brazilians' population, in 2023, the population of children there is approximately 52.51 million of 216,42 million (UNICEF, 2023).This shows that the total population of children is very large, and this leads to the importance of each of them for the glory of a country.These statistics show that the importance of the child population for the future development of a country.
As a result, educational institutions play a critical role in raising children's awareness of the need to keep learning through high-quality programmes in order for them to develop normally.If children do not have a foundational education from an early age, it will become increasingly difficult for them to overcome numerous challenges in the future.A dialogue through a Majid (1996) piece of writing concerning Pakistan, a nation well-known for its legal profession's seeming incapacity to address the societal issues plaguing it.The lack of assurance that every child would receive the formal education that is so important to them is unmistakable proof that their rights to safety and welfare are still unassailable in their own nation.Even Pakistanis believe that for the benefit of the country's citizens, scholars and their government should conduct an in-depth analysis of the philosophy that is selected to be taught in the national educational system (Ullah & Irshad, 2018).Looking more closely at the significance of philosophy, we can see that it is a discipline of knowledge that is fundamental to the survival of human beings.According to the Department of Philosophy (n.d.) from the University of Florida, the name "philosophy" literally means "love of wisdom."Philosophy, in its broadest definition, is an activity in which individuals strive to grasp fundamental truths about themselves, the world in which they currently live, and their connections to the world and to one another.The feeling of understanding oneself is also one of the ways for a person to understand his philosophy of life.In addition, there are various other definitions that have revealed and explained that the relationship between philosophy and the development of an individual such as the goal of philosophy, when expressed abstractly, is to comprehend how objects relate to one another in the widest way conceivable (Sellars, 1963), the initial driving forces behind studying or pursuing a career in philosophy are puzzlement, curiosity, and a desire to comprehend (Nozick, 1981), and the goal of philosophers is understanding rather than knowing, to put it more precisely (Brandom, 2001).However, philosophers have yet to establish an agreement on the concept of philosophy.Some argue that philosophy is a concept that cannot be defined.This is due to the fact that we can philosophise about the meaning of philosophy.As a result, different philosophers will hold various views on the definition of philosophy (Grayling, 1998).
In addition, looking at the relationship between philosophy and education, it has brought a lot of importance to mankind.Philosophy of education is gradually evolving towards a more direct engagement with the specifics of educational policy.How philosophy plays an important role in individual development in the context of education can be seen in the following statement Philosophy is known as the mother of all knowledges.Philosophy is the root of all knowledge and scientific fields.Learning is a process that lasts a lifetime and never ends."The broadest form of philosophy is the theory of education, and education is the laboratory where philosophical distinctions are tested and made concrete.The principles of philosophy provide solutions for every issue pertaining to education.It was determined that education is the practical side of philosophy, and that philosophy is the theoretical side.Both are complementary to one another; without philosophy, education would be a blind endeavour and without education, philosophy would be insubstantial.Education produces the advancement of human civilization, but our philosophy of life ultimately shapes the answers to all of the questions, (Singh, 2018).
Philosophy should serve as a support system for the social sciences and practical decisionmakers.Furthermore, the field of education is rife with normative difficulties, the full import of which, we believe, is frequently undervalued by both groups (Schouten et al., 2014).When narrowing down the relationship between philosophy and children ' learning, Dewey (1961) noted that philosophy is eloquent about the teacher's obligation to instruct students, but it is nearly mute regarding the student's privilege of learning.It downplays the importance of the environment's human sharing of shared experiences while emphasising the impact of the mind's intellectual surroundings.This means that a teacher's wisdom in imparting knowledge based on that wisdom can create a philosophical environment for children and this will encourage them to participate in various activities that can improve their development holistically.

The Relationship Between the Philosophy of Education and Child Participation from a Global Perspective
Human development refers to the systematic process of nurturing and instructing youngsters in a well-rounded and thorough manner.It includes physical, emotional, spiritual, intellectual, and social interests in both this world and the afterlife.The process of children's growth requires consistent and ongoing work to ensure that there are no errors in any stage of its execution (Ismail, 2015).Education is the most pivotal element of this endeavour to foster children's development.Its objective is to cultivate individuals who can fully actualize their complete potential, encompassing all talents and latent abilities.However, to accomplish this educational process, it is necessary to implement it with principles rooted in philosophy.Every nation possesses a distinct educational ideology that seeks to foster the growth of its citizens through ongoing educational endeavors.Not just primary and secondary schools, but also higher education institutions such as Teachers College, Columbia University, Harvard Graduate School of Education, and Noddings (1995) adhere to the philosophy of education.
The primary objective of educational philosophy is to give priority to pedagogical ideas and employ dialectical, logical, and rhetorical analyses to clarify educational comprehension.Regarding logic, these instruments are based on tools specifically created to verify statements connected to truth (Pereira, 2020).Given the established philosophy within the educational system of a country, it is necessary to align research on children's development with the principles outlined in this philosophy.In order to examine how philosophy and education might enhance children's growth, we shall analyse the viewpoint from many chosen countries across the globe.Primarily, it is customary for each country to own its unique educational philosophy.The philosophy implemented in each country is often founded upon four distinct branches, as outlined by Kaminsky (1992) and presented in the following table Perennialism Perennialism is an educational concept that asserts that humans possess a shared nature that defines them (Gautek, 2004).Perennialists believe that the objective of education is to ensure that youngsters have a comprehensive understanding of the fundamental principles of Western philosophy.These notions has the capacity to address problems in any historical era.Just as the natural and human realms remain unchanged at their core, the focus lies on imparting timeless concepts and uncovering unchanging truths.

Progressivism
The term "progression" refers to the act of moving forward through a series of interconnected steps, with a focus on achieving specific goals rather than making unrealistic leaps into the future (Gautek, 2004).Progressives advocate for prioritizing children as the focal point in the classroom, rather than emphasizing the curriculum or the instructor.This ideology places great importance on students engaging in active experimentation to validate hypotheses.The students' inquiries regarding the world they come across serve as the fundamental basis for their learning.The action is active, not passive.The learner engages in problemsolving and critical thinking, drawing insights from personal experiences within a specific cultural and physical context.

3.
Existentialism Existentialists claim that every individual possesses unique attributes, and hence, education should be tailored to meet these distinctions (Suwarno, 2020).Existentialists argue that education should cultivate in children a comprehension of their autonomy as individuals, emphasizing the need for them to construct their own identities and aspirations.Educators provide children with a diverse range of choices, although it is the responsibility of the student to seek solutions from inside themselves rather than relying solely on external sources.

Essentialism
Essentialism posits that human culture and civilization require a distinct collection of core concepts, capacities, and body of knowledge (Gautek, 2004).Essentialists advocate for the systematic and structured teaching of a shared body of knowledge to youngsters.This conservative perspective emphasizes the need of instilling moral and intellectual principles in educational institutions.The curriculum is built upon the principles of academic rigor and the essential information and skills.
Table 1.0 has outlined that the educational systems used by numerous countries globally are underpinned by four primary approaches: perennialism, progressivism, existentialism, and essentialism.Malik (2021) asserts that perennialism views education as the means by which an individual's latent qualities, or hidden capabilities, are awakened and realized.In the field of early childhood education (ECE), teachers are required to assume a crucial role in assessing the skills and capacities of children by providing them with diverse opportunities to engage in varied activities.Furthermore, American education places significant emphasis on the simultaneous growth of pupils in alignment with progressivism.According to Silcock (1993), it is essential for children to undergo proper development through a child-centered approach.This is because when children willingly and energetically engage in class, it motivates them to attain educational objectives.
Additionally, existentialism plays a crucial part in ensuring that the holistic development of America's youngsters is guaranteed.Koirala (2011) argues that existentialists advocate for individuals to authentically confront the reality in their life.Individuality lacks efficacy unless the truth engenders self-affirmation.In fact, self-satisfaction is derived from possessing knowledge of the truth.Lastly, essentialism asserts that teachers have the responsibility to instill in their students the traits that are indispensable for the formation of their character.
As part of this process, it is necessary to ensure that students are intellectually equipped, rigorously trained, and instilled with a strong sense of patriotism (Sahin, 2018).Teachers can engage children in several activities to facilitate their readiness for these elements, such as granting them greater autonomy in managing their everyday routines (Savahl et al., 2020).
Regarding the topic of American educational philosophy, it encompasses a set of 8 distinct purposes.Gronlund (1993) asserts that the primary objective of the educational system in the USA is to ensure that children are adequately prepared for school.By the year 2000, every child in America will commence their education fully prepared to acquire knowledge.The achievement of this can be predicated on three primary objectives as follows 1.All children shall be provided with access to high-quality preschool programs that are suitable for their developmental needs and assist them in preparing for formal education (Cramer et al., 1994).2. Each parent will fulfill the role of their child's initial educator and dedicate daily time to aid their preschooler's education.Additionally, parents will have the means and assistance required to support this endeavor (Cramer et al., 1994).3. Improving prenatal health services will significantly reduce the prevalence of infants with low birth weight.Children will be provided with the essential nourishment, opportunities for physical activity, and healthcare to ensure that they come to school with healthy brains and bodies and are able to retain the mental alertness needed to be ready to learn (Cramer et al., 1994).
The educational philosophy of the USA places significant importance on the active participation of parents, children, and teachers in school, as shown by the ECE pedagogy (Kamerman and Gatenio-Gabel, 2015).This serves as a positive indication of an educational system that effectively incorporates all four areas of the philosophy of education.However, research has demonstrated that children can gain advantages from receiving early childhood care and education of excellent quality.Conversely, studies have also revealed that a majority of children in the United States are provided with care of substandard quality, which may actually hinder their long-term development (Helburn, 1995;National Institute on Child Health and Human Development, 1998;Whitebook, 1989).The reason for this is that it encounters its own obstacles and limitations, despite its role as a fundamental platform for the growth and development of children.Bagley argued that the educational system in his country failed to adequately prepare young individuals for active and productive engagement in society.
As a result, children in the USA were not acquiring fundamental skills, and teachers' colleges were not producing competent and proficient educators to impart those skills (Webb, 2006).
In addition, according to Kamerman and Gatenio-Gabel (2015), a significant difficulty in enhancing the quality of the educational system is the inadequate training provided to employees, which often results in low remuneration despite receiving training.Furthermore, the educational system in that location is insufficient when compared to that of Europe (Null, 2007).Nevertheless, in order to surmount these problems, it is imperative to commence with enhancing the caliber of instruction imparted within the institution.The government should implement numerous efforts to different stakeholders in order to assure the consistent attainment of optimal quality.
Moving on to the country that has been ranked as one of the best educational system s in the world (Wilk, 2017), which is Singapore, the education there has two purposes.It can be seen through the content of the philosophy of education itself as follows: To begin, attitudes must be formed, and children must be prepared to be decent citizens.Second, to prepare children for the working world.Education is a constant process of moulding children's behaviour and intellect in order for them to become the finest human being possible.Children are formed morally, intellectually, physically, socially, emotionally, and aesthetically through education.Children will also learn to be loving and responsible members of their families and society, as well as to comprehend and contribute to Singapore's future (Ministry of Education Singapore, 2014).
As a further measure, in addition to boosting the quality of ECE offered to children, the government in this country has made it essential for all workers who work with children to receive an official education degree.If discussing further about the main purpose of educational philosophy in Singapore, it has been emphasized that the attitudes of good children need to be nurtured from the beginning of school.Of course, many initiatives are taken by teachers to ensure that children can improve their personal development through their participation through activities at school and one of them is teachers using the Show-and-Tell strategy.As expected, given the context of English-dominance among bilingual Singaporean children, Ng et al (2020) observe that selfinitiated talk is among the most common types of child participation, particularly in the English-language classroom, demonstrating the potential of Show-and-Tell in promoting children's language output.From this strategy, it can not only increase the children's confidence to be more confident in themselves, but it will also encourage them to develop their attitudes through the scaffolding promoted by the teacher.The provision of scaffolding is expected to facilitate children's comprehension of the subject matter (Mahan et al., 2020).
The information presented here is viewed as a new subject or extension that children learn, and they will develop their comprehension to base their attitude on it.
Then, through good attitudes acquired at school, they tend to be responsible and care for their surrounding as outlined by the second purpose of this educational philosophy.As a result, social interaction that children learn in preschool will advance their general development and strengthen their internal conviction that they are moral beings.According to research, infants learn moral sensitivity and values early in life through relationships and social experiences that both support and shape their moral development (Halstead and Taylor, 2000).In addition, there has been much discussion regarding language development in early life, and new findings indicate that infants possess a moral core and the capacity to distinguish between good and wrong (Wynn & Bloom, 2014).Based on prior research, it has been demonstrated that social connection between teachers and children can empower children to participate in numerous activities linked to their development.However, if teachers increase the number of inquiry-based teaching and facilitation sessions (Osman et al., 2022), implement teaching and learning through the Tell-and-Show strategy (Ng et al., 2020), encourage teaching using highorder thinking skills (Osman et al., 2019), and many other things, this growth process can continue on an ongoing basis.
Furthermore, the researchers will examine the relationship between the philosophy of education and child participation, with a specific emphasis on Finland, a country well recognized as a global model in the field of education.Finland routinely achieves top scores in school achievement and demonstrates significant educational equity (Ustun, & Eryilmaz, 2018).Consequently, researchers from different countries, including Finland, have started investigations into the factors that contribute to the consistent success of Finnish students (Ahte et al., 2008;Çobanoğlu & Kasapoğlu, 2010;Darling-Hammond, 2009;Eraslan, 2009;Kim, Lavonen, & Ogawa, 2009;Kivirauma & Ruoho, 2007;Linnakylä, 2004;Malaty, 2006;Sahlberg, 2013;Sarjala, 2013;Simola, 2005;Valijarvi et al., 2002).The Finnish education system is distinguished by its focus on fostering and promoting individual development through active engagement in school, and in principles deeply embedded in the population.When discussing Finland's education policy, it is crucial to highlight the following points: The primary goal of Finnish education policy is to provide equal access to education for all residents.These ideals are reflected in the educational system's structure.
The system is very permeable, which means there are no dead ends that impede students from progressing to higher levels of schooling.In education, the emphasis is on learning rather than testing.In Finland, there are no national assessments for students in primary school.Instead, teachers are responsible for assessing students in their individual topics based on the curricular objectives (Council for Creative Education of Finland, 2020).
What is particularly intriguing about this country's educational system is that it does not mandate any form of comparative assessment of students through examinations.What is particularly fascinating about this country's education system is that there is no need for children to be evaluated through tests in order to make comparisons.In his study, Federick (2020) noted that his country lacks a national examination, distinguishing it from Indonesia, Malaysia, and Thailand.Moving the attention to Malaysia, one of the emerging nations in Southeast Asia, it is worth noting that the educational system in this country places a significant emphasis on fostering a sense of national pride in its educational philosophy.Noordin (1993) states that the educational system in Malaysia experienced improvement after the implementation of the National Education Philosophy in 1987.Simultaneously, this philosophy has expressed the fundamental nature of the entire national educational system.Furthermore, it will determine the course, basis, and wellspring of motivation for all educational pursuits and strategies.Upon closer examination of the content of this philosophy of education, it elucidates various aspects of the student's existence, as exemplified by the following statement In Malaysia, education is an ongoing endeavor to fully and holistically develop every individual's potential in order to produce intellectually, spiritually, emotionally, and physically fit and harmonious human beings who are obedient to God and live in faith.The objective of this project is to produce individuals in Malaysia who possess knowledge, skills, noble character, responsibility, and the capacity to attain personal well-being while simultaneously promoting harmony and prosperity within the family, society, and nation (Ministry of Education Malaysia, 1996;Law Review Commissioner of Malaysia, 2012) According to Ismail (2015), various aspects of developing quality future generations for the country are emphasized in this philosophy, such as an individual's exceptional character.They are excellent individuals and honourable citizens, citizens who are trustworthy and responsible, citizens who are devoted and eager.nice individuals will raise nice children.As a result, a good society and nation will emerge.The existence of a philosophy that was officially written in 1987 is to achieve the aforementioned goals.Clearly, the goal of FPK-based education is both individualized and societal.This is consistent with attempts to give birth to excellent persons who are also good members of the community and citizens.To ensure that children can achieve the goals set by this educational philosophy, many efforts are made by the government, especially from the aspect of developing children's potential through children's participation in school.According to Ministry of Education Malaysia (2013), access must be expedited in order to boost children's development at an early stage.Every Malaysian child deserves equitable access to an education that will allow him or her to reach his or her full potential.As a result, the Ministry wants to provide universal access and full enrolment of all children from preschool to upper secondary education by 2020.Furthermore, considering the viewpoint of Brazil, a developing country in South America, it has prioritized the promotion of its national education philosophy through the efforts of the engaged stakeholders for its citizens.Upon conducting a comprehensive analysis of the OECD's Education at a Glance report (2019), it becomes evident that policies aligned with the national education philosophy are crucial for ensuring children's participation in the country's education system.The preschool philosophy in Brazil can be examined in more detail as follows Pre-school education is discretionary and serves to facilitate the growth and progress of children aged below 6.Its objective is to facilitate the development of several aspects of child growth, such as motor skills, cognitive skills, and social skills, while also creating a conducive environment for future knowledge acquisition and learning.Childcare facilities are available for children under 2 years old in day nurseries, while kindergartens cater to children aged 2 to 3. Preschools, on the other hand, are designed for children aged 4 and above.City governments offer public preschools.Pre-school education is commonly delivered by a blend of instructors with early childhood education certificates and teachers' assistants, who generally require only a high school diploma.In pre-school education, the average child-staff ratio is 1:14 for teachers and pupils, and 1:8 for staff members, which includes both teachers and aides.
The enhancement of children's development in Brazil is commonly attributed to the contributions of Brazilian educationist and activist Paulo Freire.His concepts of 'conscientization' and the resulting impacts on participatory practices with children and young individuals are also discussed (Butler, 2008).This figure also held the belief that the classroom was a conducive environment for fostering social change.As a result, many preschool teachers have been motivated to enhance children's knowledge and abilities using this approach (Raikes et al., 2023).Nevertheless, it is imperative to conduct an in-depth review of the Policy Review Report entitled "Early Childhood Care and Education in Brazil."According to the Division for the Promotion of Basic Education, Education Sector UNESCO ( 2006), children's participation can be challenging since early childhood services are not fully integrated into the education sector and are not recognized as educational institutions.Although there are established regulations and principles for teaching methods in early childhood education, the difficulty is in efficiently implementing them.
Ultimately, every country possesses its unique National Education Philosophy, elucidated through many mediums such as policies, documents, books, magazines, and others.The purpose of this philosophy is to cultivate an individual who undergoes comprehensive development via their participation in the learning and facilitation process (Saad et al., 2019).Nevertheless, multiple obstacles must be surmounted by different stakeholders, particularly educators, to ensure that children's education can be enhanced through engaging in active participation activities within educational establishments.Thus, educators must be equipped to implement diverse strategies that align with the integration of teaching methods aimed at fostering children's active engagement in various school activities.Regarding these matters, two research questions will be emphasized as follows: 1. Which branch of educational philosophy is applied in the study?2. What are the challenges associated with promoting children's active participation from the standpoint of educational philosophy?

Methodology
The researchers have employed the SLR writing guidance utilized by (Murad et al., 2023).Three processes, as proposed by Kitchenham and Charters (2007), were implemented to ensure the alignment of the acquired and assessed data with the study questions.The preliminary stage is executed to formulate a strategy.Initially, it is important to establish a systematic procedure for identification.This is a procedure for identifying papers that specifically address the problem statements that have been delineated.Furthermore, throughout this phase, the search for the papers will be conducted using a standardized and methodical search protocol.During this phase, it is necessary to accomplish numerous tasks, including identifying the databases that should be utilized, determining the keywords and structure of the search query, and establishing the criteria for selecting relevant papers for the study.Furthermore, during the second phase, a literature review is conducted as part of the process.It signifies that the chosen databases are queried using the constructed search phrase, and the selected results are then saved and documented.The selection of certain papers is determined by predefined criteria and the information derived from them.The concluding stage involves documenting the review.The research inquiries are addressed through the synthesis and analysis of the collected information fragments, and the outcomes are displayed in tables and figures.

Search Strategy
A computerized search approach is employed to find pertinent material for this comprehensive inquiry.This search approach was applied to three databases (refer to Table 2.0).The search initially employed the terms "Child Participation" and "Philosophy in Early Childhood Education" to obtain a comprehensive perspective on the topic.Returned papers were analysed, and the abstracts of certain papers were examined to identify synonyms of the search phrases.The discovered search terms include "child participation," "preschool," "kindergarten," "philosophy," and "child."A sophisticated search query (refer to Table 3.0) was constructed by utilizing the selected keywords and logical operators.This approach was used to prevent any omission of pertinent research papers.The search queries encompassed the period from mid-2019 to early 2024 and encompassed primary research that were only published in English.The search string for each database is provided in detail in Table 2.After doing the search, a total of 119 studies were obtained.

Selection Criteria
Selection criteria are employed to establish demarcations between pertinent and extraneous research papers.The study excludes the irrelevant research papers while processing the pertinent ones.A research paper is deemed significant in this study if it provides answers to the study questions.The literature search term in Table 3.0 was used to find both pertinent and non-pertinent research papers.In order to identify the research papers that are pertinent to our study questions, we applied specific criteria to include or exclude these studies.

Studies Selection
This section delineates the procedure for discerning and choosing the pertinent research papers.To ensure the alignment of papers with the research questions, the researcher employed the prism approach, as utilized by Mengist et al (2020) in their systematic literature review (SLR) study.The process consists of three crucial phases: identification, screening, eligibility selection, and documenting the final selected papers.At first, the main author conducted a search in three databases (refer to Table 2.0) using the specified search terms (refer to Table 3.0), and the results of each database search were saved in individual files of the same format (Excel format).Subsequently, merge them into a unified excel worksheet.A total of 119 research papers were obtained from the search.Table 3 presents a detailed analysis of the search outcomes.The excel spreadsheet undergoes a thorough examination to identify any instances of duplication and superfluous documents.During the screening process, we identified and removed a single instance of grey literature and found no duplicates.118 research papers have advanced to the next level of eligibility selection.During the initial stage of this process, the writers individually evaluate the titles of the chosen research papers to ascertain their relevance to this study according to the predetermined selection criteria.Consequently, 23 research papers were excluded, resulting in a remaining total of 95 research papers.During the second phase of this process, During the second stage of this process, research papers are assessed for their relevance to this topic using predetermined selection criteria.Consequently, 29 research papers were excluded, resulting in a remaining total of 66 research papers.During the third phase of this process, the researchers individually evaluate the abstracts and quickly examine the content of the chosen research papers to assess their relevance to this study, using the predetermined selection criteria.Consequently, 20 research papers were removed, resulting in a remaining total of 46 research papers.The researchers independently examined the complete content of all 59 papers to ascertain their relevance to the research objective.Following the researchers' suggestions, 14 research papers were eliminated from the study, while 32 research papers progressed to the final stage.The table displaying the pertinent research papers can be found in Table 5.0. Figure 1

Data Extraction, Synthesis, and Reporting
The research questions (RQs) were addressed by extracting pertinent data from the selected papers, which involved thoroughly reviewing the complete texts of the research papers.The retrieved data include the source of the research data (database), the type of papers, the name(s) of the author(s), the paper year, the title of the paper, the abstract, child involvement in preschool/kindergarten, and the perspective of past research from early childhood education (ECE) philosophy.Next, analyze the gathered data to enhance comprehension of the information.In order to answer Research Question 1, the philosophy of ECE is categorized into smaller groups, consisting of four branches of educational philosophy as outlined in the literature evaluation section.Researchers will gain insight into the application, implementation, or suggestion of educational philosophy in each selected paper through the study's findings, discussion, recommendations, and conclusion.In order to address the second research question, the researchers will enumerate the issues that have been identified in the debate for each chosen paper, and subsequently organize them into thematic groupings based on shared characteristics.

Results and Discussion
This section of the report examines and interprets the research findings.A total of 119 papers were obtained from the databases throughout the search, and 32 papers were chosen for analysis according to the study selection criteria.Table 6 presents a comprehensive compilation of pertinent research papers, including the names of the author(s), paper years, research paper titles, and the methods by which child-participation is fostered through educational philosophy.The analysis comprises the year of paper, the number of specific journals, classification of journal indexing for the selected paper, the types of research design employed, and the location where the study was conducted.Furthermore, this analysis addresses the two research questions (RQs) by examining the background of each chosen scholarly paper.

Papers Based on Journal
The selected studies were published in a diverse range of academic journals.ECRQ had the highest number of selected papers, with a total of 9 papers, accounting for 28.1% of the total.
Next, the EED journal had the second greatest number of manuscripts, with a total of 3 papers, accounting for 9.4%.Furthermore, the TSC and CP journals also achieved a recording rate of 6.3%, with two papers being successfully recorded in each.Furthermore, in the case of other journals, a single manuscript is considered equivalent to a mere 3.1%.A total of 20 papers were included in this systematic literature review, resulting in an output of 32 papers.The researcher has chosen three databases that have a diverse range of journal indexing, which have been effectively documented in the final selection step.Out of the selected journals, 90% have been classified as Scopus indexed journals, while the remaining 10% are not indexed in Scopus.Upon a more thorough review, there are a total of 11 papers classified as Scopus quartile papers (Q1), with 6 falling under Scopus Q2 and 1 falling under Scopus Q3.This analysis did not include any Scopus Q4 papers.The key criterion for paper selection in this SLR is "transparency."All papers are chosen from reputable databases that have undergone a rigorous peer review process, particularly for Scopus indexed journals.

Types of Research Design
Once all the completed papers have been duly recorded, the researchers have examined the methodology employed in studies pertaining to children's involvement in educational institutions.It is crucial to ascertain the study design employed.The research revealed that 14 studies (43.75%) quantitatively examine the development of children in schools, focusing on either teachers and children or teachers or children as the study sample.Furthermore, 37.5% of the qualitative data was successfully recorded, which corresponds to a total of 12 papers.The proportion of papers conducting mixed method research is 18.75%, which corresponds to 6 papers.This study has demonstrated that papers focused on quantitative design have achieved the highest number of documented results.In the research findings section, the researchers will analyze several aspects of past studies on how children's engagement is perceived in the philosophical context of early childhood education.

The Geographical Location Where the Study was Conducted
The research encompasses data collecting from 15 countries, serving as the locations for gathering data from 32 papers.Two studies have been researched in two locations, while the rest 30 papers have been performed exclusively in one location.The United States had the biggest number of papers conducted, with a total of 17, accounting for 53.13% of the total.Furthermore, China, Germany, and Turkey individually chronicled the second most substantial quantity of papers, each accounting for 6.25% of the total, with a total of 2 papers.Furthermore, Norway, Japan, Switzerland, India, Russia, Portugal, Greece, Chile, Spain, Bulgaria, and Israel each documented a mere solitary paper, accounting for a little 3.13%.Moreover, regarding the two papers that have examined the same geographical location, namely India-Russia and Germany-Switzerland.According to the 32 papers included in this SLR, every paper discusses a unique area of educational philosophy that has been put into practice.There is a paper that exclusively documents a single branch of educational philosophy.Moreover, particular papers recorded the existence of two branches, whilst other papers recorded the existence of three branches.Nevertheless, there is no single paper that comprehensively records all four divisions.The branch that has garnered the highest level of scrutiny is perennialism, with 18 instances devoted to debating and elucidating its conclusions.To determine the topics of this branch, the researcher has concluded that there are materials that clarify the connection between children and their environment in the process of acquiring knowledge and improving their overall abilities.Furthermore, the second branch that was effectively documented is essentialism, which encompasses 14 frequencies that have deliberated on the significance of this branch in children's necessary skills.Within this discipline, researchers investigate the topic of enhancing children's cognitive development, focusing on fundamental abilities such as literacy, numeracy, written expression, and logical thinking.Furthermore, the third most prominent category is the progressivism branch, which encompasses 12 instances that emphasise the significance of fostering cooperative learning among students, as well as between children and teachers, in order to attain educational aims and goals.Lastly, the branch of existentialism has the fewest occurrences, with only 5 frequencies dedicated to exploring the significance of play for children and the prioritisation of children's autonomy in selecting their own educational experiences.Perennialism 18 Q2: What are the challenges associated with promoting children's active participation from the standpoint of educational philosophy?When addressing this question, the chosen research papers were thoroughly examined to determine whether the authors discussed any encountered challenges or not.To identify potential improvements for future studies, researchers refer to the suggestions, conclusions, and implications part of papers that were not discussed in the main body of the research.
Based on the analysis results, the most commonly cited challenge is the need to enhance individual.13 papers have discussed the challenge of enhancing children's development by engaging them in activities that promote their participation, both in and outside the classroom.Furthermore, the second most significant challenge is the problem of enhancing academic proficiency, which is mentioned in 8 papers.Furthermore, the third lowest frequency pertains to the problem of establishing a more comprehensive classroom, which is mentioned in 6 papers.The fourth challenge frequently cited is the difficulty of achieving the same learning objectives for all children.The least frequently acknowledged challenges include the difficulty of implementing an effective curriculum, the struggle to instil values in the learning process, and the constraint of limited time for creating high-quality activities.
Only a single source acknowledges these three challenges.

Discussion
A systematic review can be conducted to verify or disprove the reliance of existing practice on pertinent evidence, assess the quality of such evidence, and rectify any ambiguity or inconsistency in practice that may exist (Mun et al., 2019).As stated in the Cochrane handbook authored by Higgins and Green (2011), one of the key reasons for conducting a systematic literature review (SLR) is to employ rigorous and methodical approaches that minimise bias.This ensures that the resulting findings are more dependable, enabling the formulation of conclusive decisions.This study highlights the significance of research on child-participation in early childhood education.The researchers conducted an in-depth review of 32 selected papers, focusing on differentiating and comparing their findings.Initially, this SLR demonstrates the capability to recognise the gaps that have been identified in the conducted analyses.Existing studies have provided evidence by discussing the branch of educational philosophy utilized or incorporated in their research.However, they have not sufficiently clarified how their findings have substantiated or addressed a particular phenomenon.In a study conducted by Xiang et al (2023); Hong et al (2023), the authors emphasized the significance of activities that promote children's participation in the classroom.However, they did not provide a detailed explanation of how the theoretical relationship can establish more precise guidelines regarding the long-term effects of studies conducted through dialectical, logical, and rhetorical analyses (Pereira, 2020).Previous research was unable to offer conclusive evidence about the significance of the philosophy of education in each study.Therefore, this SLR aims to demonstrate the practical application of philosophy in the undertaken study.As stated in the literature review section, providing philosophical education to children is a fundamental requirement to align with their innate developmental process.
The correlation between the progress of society and the teaching of philosophy is an external requirement (Chen, 2018).These findings will enhance the awareness of future researchers regarding the optimal strategies to enhance children's development in school through engaging them in participatory activities.This will involve reinforcing the field of educational philosophy that is employed in evaluating and analysing research outcomes.
Additionally, this study aims to identify one of the limitations, which involves examining the sample size employed by prior studies.To examine the relationship between educational philosophy and children's involvement in the school setting, numerous research has exclusively concentrated on children and teachers as the subjects of investigation (Wakabayashi et al., 2020;Yüceer & Keskin, 2023;Weiland et al., 2021).To effectively promote children's holistic development, it is essential to consider not just their communication skills in the classroom and the scaffolding activities provided by teachers, but also the influence of parents.Prior research has emphasised the significance of parenting activities, parental psychological stability, and socio-economic determinants in a child's developmental achievement (Cheng et al., 2010).This study has demonstrated that children's active engagement is not limited to the classroom alone.It is crucial to include the parents of these children as a significant demographic in order to provide higher quality research findings for future studies.Furthermore, in order to gain a more comprehensive understanding of children's development, it is necessary to conduct the study by examining the family population itself.This is because the phrase 'home education' encompasses the educational influence of the family on children (Ceka & Murati, 2016).Hence, to ensure that children's involvement is not confined to the favourable outcomes observed in school, it is imperative to consider external mediators.This will enable a comprehensive examination of children's growth, encompassing multiple time frames and environments.
Furthermore, this SLR has uncovered that significant concepts pertaining to the philosophy of education have been established via empirical investigations conducted by previous scholars.
From this research, it is evident that the practical gap can be examined with greater clarity.Several research have examined developmental changes across three domains (Skalstad & Munkebye, 2021;Sakellariou & Banou, 2020;Leng, 2020).However, these studies lack detailed explanations of the method by which these changes occur.The explanation for transformation of children's development practically is crucial because it serves as a standard for future studies on how a quality framework might be utilised to analyse broader advancements in preschool settings.Sagastui et al (2020) have demonstrated that a considerable amount of literature documents the inherent curiosity of young children in exploring their environment and progressively advancing in more intricate activities and thinking.Research has shown that when circumstances facilitate the natural curiosity and increasing independence of early children, it promotes the development of self-directed behaviour in children.By thoroughly examining the developmental process of children, a more comprehensive understanding of what they are going through can be attained, leading to a more lucid formulation of philosophical ethics.This assertion is supported by a study conducted by Arda Tuncdemir et al (2022), in which the researchers thoroughly examined the ways in which teachers' interactions with children in early childhood education influenced the social-emotional competence and theory of mind of preschool children.
Finally, the study's findings demonstrate that increasing children's engagement in preschool may be achieved by implementing the appropriate educational philosophy, which requires instructors to actively enhance early-stage child development.One of the causes of this difficulty is the presence of several internal and external factors that instructors encounter, including insufficient expertise in teaching fundamental skills and challenges in locating suitable educational programmes and resources to support children with diverse abilities (Kurniastuti et al., 2023).Nevertheless, it is crucial for educators to use optimal measures in order to enhance their preparedness and professionalism when striving to establish a more conducive learning environment for children's growth and progress.The challenges were overcome by acquiring supplementary reading materials, engaging teachers in training and workshops focused on school literacy, enhancing the appeal and comfort of reading corners through decoration, and partnering with parents to foster motivation and familiarity with literacy in both the school and home settings (Agustin & Wiratama, 2021).By empowering the children, the teachers encourage their active participation in the supplied activities, thereby applying the idea of education in a neutral manner.

Conclusion
To enhance the progress of children in kindergarten or preschool, it is crucial for all stakeholders, particularly schools, to offer motivation and assistance to children in engaging in any organised activities or programmes.The research findings indicate that the majority of the selected papers have demonstrated the significant impact of branch perennialism on enhancing teachers' pedagogy in schools.The development of individuals, particularly children, is most effectively achieved through their environment.This includes encouraging academic potential, emphasising freedom through play, promoting cooperative learning, and providing various experiences.Undoubtedly, each of the four philosophical streams has emphasised the significance of children's development and skills within the school setting.However, the primary focus is on the process through which they acquire knowledge.Despite the numerous obstacles that children and teachers encounter when trying to enhance their participation in early school activities, it is crucial for teachers to revisit the recommendations of educational philosophy and adhere to fundamental and essential principles in their teaching practices.Nevertheless, this SLR is restricted to the participation of solely children and teachers only.Furthermore, this paper additionally scrutinises certain quantitative research methods, hence rendering it arduous to disentangle causal linkages.Further research may be conducted on the participation of parents in preschool settings.Furthermore, it is possible to do a cross-country and cross-continent analysis of teacher and child engagement to determine the most effective strategies, as suggested by researchers, for enhancing the beneficial outcomes of children's participation in various activities was executed.
employs a flowchart diagram to succinctly outline the selection process.Section 4 examines the pertinent research study.

Figure 1
Figure 1.0: Selection process using flowchart diagram

Fig. 3
illustrates the quantity of papers spanning from 2019 to 2024.The graph indicates that the majority of the papers (28.1%) were published in the year 2021.The years 2020, 2022, and 2023 are the subsequent years with an increase of 21.9%.Nevertheless, the years that have had a lower number of papers are 2019 and 2024, accounting for a mere 3.1%.The pie chart below has sparked extensive discussions regarding the principles of early childhood education, particularly in relation to kindergarten.The rise in demand for early childhood education is attributed to the necessity for high-quality education in this field, which should be respected by multiple stakeholders in accordance with the recommendations of nearly all the relevant scholarly papers.

Figure 2
Figure 2.0: Year of papers

Figure
Figure 3.0: Number of journals

Figure 5
Figure 5.0: Journal Indexing for the Selected Paper

Figure 6
Figure 6.0: Number of papers based on type of research design

Figure 7
Figure 7.0: Location where the study was conducted

Table 1
In is conjunction with the government's efforts to improve the overall quality of preschool education were announced by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong in 2012.These efforts included bolstering teacher training and curriculum leadership, creating government kindergartens to spur quality improvements, improving affordability for families in financial hardship, and enhancing policy coordination and regulation of the early childhood sector by creating a new agency (Ministry of Education Singapore, 2012).
Interestingly, in 2001, a Pre-school Qualification Accreditation Committee (PQAC) was set up jointly by the Ministry of Education Singapore and the Ministry of Community Development, Youth and Sports to assess and accredit the certificate and diploma courses in pre-school education (UNESCO International Bureau of Education, 2006).

Table 7
0: The Prevalence of Challenges Emphasised in Papers