Vývoj globálneho diskurzu vzdelávacej politiky a nové sociálne funkcie predškolského vzdelávania

: The study analyses the nature of global education governance and the mechanisms of transnational influencing of national education systems today, with an emphasis on early childhood education. Through a discursive analysis of key OECD and EU documents, it clarifies the new conceptualization of the early childhood education and early childhood education sector as such . The conceptualization, based on a prospective and economizing view, is promoted through various reform mechanisms within particular national contexts . The study gives examples of reform movements in Slovakia and Germany. The study confirms the validity of the so-called convergence hypothesis for early childhood education, despite the diversity of early childhood education tradi- tions in Europe .