Increasing interest in the provision of early childhood education and care services as a social investment strategy has been accompanied by worldwide concerns to identify appropriate pedagogical practices for working with young children. Here, we trace the developing interest in child-centred approaches, before considering whether there can be shared understanding of the term between countries with different histories of early childhood provision. Case studies of England, Hungary and Italy consider focus group and questionnaire responses from staff and students on early childhood courses, together with curriculum guidance, to examine "child-centredness" in the context of the cultural-historical background to early childhood provision in the three countries. Findings suggest that the term "child-centred" has rich pedagogical associations that can be easily subsumed into different value systems prizing, for example, individuality, child development or democracy. In the light of these findings, we consider the implications of the use of the term "child-centred".