Linda Mitchell

Constructions of Childhood in Early Childhood Education Policy Debate in New Zealand

What assumptions about children and childhood are held by government officials and organisation representatives who are influential in policy formation in early childhood education (ECE) in New Zealand? How are assumptions manifested in policy? This article draws on a study carried out from 2001 to 2003, a time of radical ECE policy change in New Zealand. It uses principles derived from social constructionist theory and values expressed in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child to analyse constructions of childhood in ECE policy debate during this time. Three dominant constructions about childhood were identified: a construction of the ‘child as dependant within the family’; the ‘child as learner within a community of learners’; and the ‘child as citizen within a social community’. These constructions were associated with views about the purposes and outcomes of ECE; the roles of children, teachers, families, and government; and favoured policy approaches. It is argued that a construction of child as citizen within a social community is a new paradigm that places childrens rights and agency to the forefront, and acknowledges the interdependence of care and education. As a basis for policy, it could cater better for societal change and support ECE services as participatory forums building social networks, support and cohesion.

Understanding the Te Whariki Approach : Early years education in practice

1. Acknowledgments and an Introduction 2. Setting the Stage for Te Whariki 3. The Development of Te Whariki 4. Cultural Identity and Language 5. Principle One: Nga Hononga / Relationships 6. Principle Two: Kotahitanga / Holistic Development 7. Principle Three: Whakamana / Empowerment 8. Whanau Tangata / Family and Community 9. Weaving: Documentation, Assessment and Planning 10. Teachers as Researchers 11. The Future

Enquiring teachers and democratic politics: transformations in New Zealand's early childhood education landscape

Considerable interest has emerged in policy frameworks to sustain and encourage democratic participation and responsive pedagogy in early childhood education. Using findings from an evaluation of New Zealand’s strategic plan for early childhood education, this article highlights ways in which policy initiatives interacted to support such processes. Universal funding for free early childhood education made access to early childhood education possible for many children who might not otherwise have attended. A further range of initiatives aimed at improving teacher qualifications and professional capabilities supported the development of communities of learners and contributed to enhanced quality and democratic practice. A key argument is that benefits came from policies that were universally available and coherently organised around an understanding of children, families and communities as participants.

Some Thoughts about the Value of an OECD International Assessment Framework for Early Childhood Services in Aotearoa New Zealand.

To fairly and truly judge what a person can do, you need to know how the talent (skill, knowledge) you are assessing is situated in – placed within – the lived social practices of the person as well as his or her interpretations of those practices. ... many a standardized test can be perfectly ‘scientific’ and useless at the same time; in a worst case scenario, it can be disastrous. (Gee, 2007: 364)

Lived Spaces of Infant-Toddler Education and Care: Implications for Policy?

The research contained within this book reflects the growing commonality, in many parts of the world, of very young children regularly attending some form of formal early childhood education and care setting. Policy significantly shapes the spaces of these environments. This chapter draws upon the book’s rich collection of research, as well as extant literature, to consider implications for policy. Drawing upon Bronfenbrenner (1979), the chapter commences with a brief discussion of policy contexts and situates current research within an understanding of preceding research trends and developments such as the United Nations Convention of the Rights of the Child. This collection of research challenges limiting views of infant-toddler capacities and dispositions and illuminates the complexity and sophistication of infant-toddler pedagogy and its emotional dimension. Policy can open the space for such dimensions to be recognised: to provide standards and conditions which enable educators to engage responsively and respectfully with young children and create meaningful connections with families and communities. Importantly, policy also has a role in creating opportunities for deep, professional reflection in ways that challenge and/or extend educators’ views of very young children and the nature of the infant-toddler pedagogy.

Shifting directions in ECEC policy in New Zealand: from a child rights to an interventionist approach

Early childhood education and care (ECEC) policy reflects ideas about childhood, labour force participation, education, the economy and the role of the state. This article spans a period of political change in New Zealand from a left of centre government during the first decade of the twenty-first century to a right of centre government from 2009. It draws on policy evaluations and document analysis to critically examine the shifts in approaches to ECEC policy over this time and the consequences for participants of different policy frameworks. It argues that discourses of children as ‘priority’ have replaced a focus on citizenship, and a swing has occurred away from universal to targeted approaches aimed at encouraging ECEC participation for a few. Recent policies have removed crucial professional supports and qualification goals for teachers, bringing into question New Zealands commitment to quality. The market continues to determine provision and unfettered expansion of for-profit provision is occurring. Yet at odds with this trend, some examples of community planning are occurring, offering a glimmer of possibilities for how ECEC might be conceptualised, organised and supported.

Bridging Transitions Through Cultural Understanding and Identity

Internationally, there is a commitment to helping refugees resettle in a new country. However, few studies have explored the role that might be played by early childhood education and care (ECEC) to support these transitions. This chapter draws on research investigating teaching and learning in an early childhood centre for refugee children and families in New Zealand. The study gathered data on teaching and learning practices through documentation and video recording of intercultural episodes. Through interviews, the researchers investigated the perspectives of teachers and families. The chapter concludes by arguing for values of respect, social justice and dialogue as a basis for creating a community based on a sense of belonging and well-being. Through providing opportunities for families and children to contribute and communicate in ways that they feel are meaningful, early childhood teachers bridge the transition process between home cultures and the culture of the early childhood centre.

Can we belong in a neo-liberal world? Neo-liberalism in early childhood education and care policy in Australia and New Zealand:

Since the 1990s, neo-liberal economics has profoundly altered the nature and delivery of early childhood education and care in both Australia and New Zealand through the creation of childcare markets. Accompanying the rise of the market has been a discourse of childcare as a commodity – a commodity marketed and sold to its consumers (read parents) as a private benefit. The stratifying impact of neo-liberalism in education policy has been argued by numerous scholars of education. Arguably, in both Australia and New Zealand, early childhood education and care is more commodified and subject to the market than any other area of education. Thus, the authors consider whether early childhood education and care has shifted away from being understood as a social good, a site for social cohesion and democratic practice – all of which the authors consider to be implicated in a conceptualisation of belonging appropriate to the project of early childhood education and care. This article considers the impact of neo-liberal policies on early childhood education and care in Australia and New Zealand, especially in relation to understandings and manifestations of ‘belonging’. The authors trace the impact of neo-liberalism in early childhood education and care policy and examine the ways in which the discourse of early childhood education and care provision has changed, both in policy and in how the market makes its appeal to parents as consumers. The authors argue that appeals to narrowly defined, individualised self-interest and advancement threaten understandings of belonging based on social solidarity and interdependence.

Belonging and culturally nuanced communication in a refugee early childhood centre in Aotearoa New Zealand

As a concept, ‘belonging’ is acknowledged to be complex, culturally determined and multifaceted. The processes of supporting belonging through early childhood education, especially where different cultural beliefs require understanding and negotiation, are not well understood. This is certainly the case for refugee children and families within early childhood education in Aotearoa New Zealand. Coming to belong is a particular challenge for these families who have been forcibly displaced from their home country. This article analyses documentation and video and interview data from a research study in an early childhood centre for refugee children and families. The ways in which cultural values and communication modes of gesture, spoken language, voice tone and dance were integrated within the curriculum are examined. A main argument is that pedagogy which incorporates key cultural constructs that refugee families bring with them strengthens a sense of belonging.