Examining discursive formations in early childhood media research: A genealogical analysis

2018 ◽  
Vol 8 (3) ◽  
pp. 225-237 ◽  
Author(s):  
Allison Sterling Henward

The study of popular culture and children has a long and intimate relationship in many fields within the humanities and social sciences, yet in the applied field of Early Childhood Education and Care, the relationship is rather fraught. Employing a Foucauldian genealogical approach, I trace the ways in which intellectual traditions and discourses (i.e. history, politics, and sacrosanct values of European aesthetics and childhood innocence) have shaped contemporary understandings and debates in the field. With attention to Foucault’s concepts of power/knowledge couplet, and discursive archives, my focus in on how these axiomatic “myths” have assembled as “regimes of truth.” I thus argue for the need for the field of Early Childhood Education and Care to engage in and consider more contextualized, nuanced, and empirically oriented studies of young children and their engagement with consumer culture.

Author(s):  
Ellen Beate Hansen Sandseter ◽  
Ole Johan Sando ◽  
Rasmus Kleppe

Children spend a large amount of time each day in early childhood education and care (ECEC) institutions, and the ECEC play environments are important for children’s play opportunities. This includes children’s opportunities to engage in risky play. This study examined the relationship between the outdoor play environment and the occurrence of children’s risky play in ECEC institutions. Children (n = 80) were observed in two-minute sequences during periods of the day when they were free to choose what to do. The data consists of 935 randomly recorded two-minute videos, which were coded second by second for several categories of risky play as well as where and with what materials the play occurred. Results revealed that risky play (all categories in total) was positively associated with fixed equipment for functional play, nature and other fixed structures, while analysis of play materials showed that risky play was positively associated with wheeled toys. The results can support practitioners in developing their outdoor areas to provide varied and exciting play opportunities.


2017 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 159-178 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ximena Galdames Castillo

In accordance with the white patriarchal foundations of the early childhood education field of the global north, Chile’s early childhood education has a colonial and androcentric origin which has been left unquestioned. Reviews of Chilean early childhood education omit/ignore other socio-political agendas, such as class, gender, and ethnicity that still shape the current landscape. This article reconstructs the foundations of Chilean early childhood education through a reconceptualized mestiza history of the present. This approach challenges the neutrality of Chilean early childhood education and seeks to reclaim it by examining the underpinning regimes of truth that re-colonize children and women moving within and inhabiting the field. Analyses show how two main strands shape(d) early childhood education and care: social (and currently, multiagency) policies, and curriculum and pedagogy. The relationship between these strands has been recursive and contradictory and overlapping over time. However, their mixture creates an illusion of literal transposition as a syncretic effect, which under close examination exposes its fault lines.


Author(s):  
Margaret Boyd

There are two separate but related issues that have challenged advocates, researchers and practitioners in the field of early education and care work for decades : improving the quality of children’s programs and increasing the wages and benefits of the workers. The solution has been framed as a need for professionalizing the workforce – professional development training, higher education and enhanced skills. While seeking professional status is expected to improve the quality of childcare programs and worker compensation, the relationship between quality, compensation and professional development training has not been fully explored. Through in - depth interviews with 32 early childhood educators I explored the relationship between educational qualifications and experience , with teacher pay and condition s of employment. Although the majority saw their work as “valuable and meaningful” they did not intend to remain in early childhood education. They experienced poverty wages, few benefits, high work related expenses and job insecurity. Their narratives highlight a crisis in early childhood education that requires radical change within the profession of early education . To retain the most qualified and motivated early childhood educators , pay and working conditions must be improved. Obtaining professional status and credentials for early education and care workers is not enough . Substantial increases in wages and benefits must be central to this movement; anything less suggests exploitation not professionalization.


2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
pp. 153-170
Author(s):  
Maja Antonietti ◽  
Monica Guerra ◽  
Elena Luciano

The relationship with families is a crucial topic in educational services for children aged 0-6 years. The participatory and inclusive approach that has traditionally characterized Italian early childhood education and care has come under serious pressure during the Covid-19 pandemic: the ongoing health, social, political, and economic emergency has radically modified timeframes, spaces, an modes of communicating and relating, both in early years/nursery school settings and more generally. This paper examines the relationship between early childhood education services and families, by reporting and analyzing data from an exploratory study on distance education in services for children aged 0-6 years, during the spring 2020 lockdown in Italy. Specifically, a questionnaire was used to collect the views of a sample of educators, teachers, and coordinators concerning the practices that had been implemented in support of the remote educational relationship (in Italian, “Legami Educativi A Distanza – LEAD” programme). Among the various themes investigated, the focus here is on problematizing the ways in which families’ participation changed during the distance education phase.


2017 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 121-135
Author(s):  
Felipe Aravena Castillo ◽  
Marta Quiroga Lobos

AbstractIn the last decade, Chile has focused on early childhood education and care (ECEC) as a key opportunity to increase student-learning outcomes and decrease socio-economic inequalities. The creation of Chile’s Under-Secretariat of ECEC in 2015 highlights the relevance of this educational stage. The purpose of this study is to analyse the new law (no. 20.835) on ECEC from the perspective of policy formulation. This study employs a discourse analysis that is based on a conceptual frame analysis of two concepts: relationships and roles. The findings indicate that the creation of the Superintendence of Education is an attempt at introducing accountability processes to ensure the quality of early childhood education. This is sustained by neoliberal policies, standardization and external influences. This study contributes to understandings of the relationship between stakeholders and school organizations and the degree of coherence and impact. Furthermore, the aim is to contribute to the international discussion surrounding educational policies beyond country-specific contexts.


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