| Contemporary Issues
in | ISSN 1463-9491 | ||
| Volume 7 Number 2 2006 | |||
Other issues available | Journal home page | Publisher home page | |||
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CONTENTS | |||
| [click on author's name for
abstract and full text] | |||
| Editorial,
pages 95‑96
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Editorial |
DOI: 10.2304/ciec.2006.7.2.95 |
| There are numerous ways in which moral and political issues are relevant to early childhood education. In this issue, moral issues are raised in articles discussing discourses about goodies and baddies evident in boys’ discussions of superheroes and Jesus, and Korean early childhood textbooks that emphasise morality in terms of learning to be respectful and belonging to a group and being open to diversity. Understanding aspects of young children’s political views through a semiotic analysis of their drawings lends itself to thinking through political and moral education of young children. The political also intersects with regulation of bodily practices in early childhood contexts. The disciplining and normalising of desires through practices in crèches circumscribe and reinforce particular identities of young children. Gender is another theme that threads throughout this issue. A critical discussion of the political agenda around increasing the presence of male teachers in early childhood education and the ways male teachers can reinforce dominant gendered discourses offers the potential to go beyond the limited public discussion of this issue. Additionally, predominantly female childcare directors in Australia are effective leaders in providing nurturing environments for children and staff, but need to develop confidence in advocacy and business skills. Again gender is relevant to understanding their self-perceptions in terms of their abilities. Children’s play in early childhood education contexts draws from their everyday lives informed increasingly by popular culture. Miriam Giugni (‘Conceptualising Goodies and Baddies through Narratives of Jesus and Superman’) demonstrates through a case study how young boys negotiate their identities and sense of belonging through the narratives of superheroes, and how they could integrate Jesus within this discourse. Rather than merely dismissing these discourses as negative in terms of encouraging violence and rough play, she argues that they should be recuperated to encourage reflection on morality and gendered identities. Engagement with the cultural capital these children bring can produce the possibility of challenging their performative enactment of hegemonic masculinity of dominant discourses in popular culture. Potentials for unconscious resistance by young children to the operation of microprocesses of power within crèches in France is the focus of Liane Mozère’s article (‘What’s the Trouble with Identity? Practices and Theories from France’). Drawing on the work of Foucault, Deleuze and Guattari provides a basis to understand how power operates through normalising and disciplining the individual and social body, and how capitalism both channels desires and requires desires as a source of innovation. As institutions, crèches reinforce certain identities, routines and expectations such as teachers not kissing or holding children, children not being naked, and hygiene practices that contain the desires of young children. In terms of explicit state and societal agendas, early educational contexts are usually considered immune to social ideology. An emphasis on developmental stages has the effect of depoliticising this stage of education. However, Lena Lee & Mary McMullen (‘Social Ideology and Early Childhood Education: a comparative analysis of Korean early childhood teacher education textbooks written in 1993 and 2003’) illuminate how Korean government agendas and the broader socio-political context have transformed expectations in early childhood education. They analyse Korean early childhood textbooks in 1993 and 2003. There is a significant contrast between an earlier emphasis on social and moral development as a reaction to a ‘moral crisis’ resulting from modernisation, and an emphasis on multiculturalism as a response to globalisation. The 1993 textbook encourages teaching children to behave respectfully and cooperatively in a group and assumes young children are inherently egocentric. The 2003 textbook has a large section on multicultural education, and sections on the influence of peer groups and the mass media on children’s social development. Clearly, this sort of research encourages reflection on the ways in which the sociocultural and political context may influence early childhood agendas in other countries as well. The push for more male elementary teachers is another example where there has been overt politicisation of early childhood education. Catherine Ashcraft & Brian Sevier (‘Gender Will Find a Way: exploring how male elementary teachers make sense of their experiences and responsibilities’) challenge the idea that increasing males in the profession will automatically lead to better educational outcomes for boys through providing healthy role models. They conducted interviews with fourteen male elementary teachers in the Denver metropolitan area. Common themes that emerged from this research were concerns over how to interact with girls, working in a female-dominated environment, and pressures on men to take up the role of disciplinarian for problem boys. The men interviewed used traditional gendered narratives in discussing their relationships with female students and female teachers, yet some of them questioned societal expectations about their ability to discipline unruly boys. Analysis from the interviews also suggests that the ideas that male teachers can act as surrogate fathers for single-parent families, that they can provide role models of males as nurturing, and that they will bring alternative pedagogies to the classroom are all infused with gendered discourses that reproduce dominant narratives. Ashcraft & Sevier propose that a way forward may be to encourage reflection on what it means to be a male teacher in order to challenge gendered stereotypes through teacher education and professional development programs. There has been a neglect of research on leadership and management in childcare centres in Australia. Drawing from interviews, Hanna Nupponen (‘Framework for Developing Leadership Skills in Child Care Centres in Queensland, Australia’) discusses the issues confronting childcare directors in Queensland and suggests some strategies for specialized training to enhance leadership competencies. Most directors interviewed prioritised the well-being of children and a democratic approach to management of staff that involved developing a shared vision for the group. They emphasised the importance of interpersonal and communication skills, and of creating a caring environment for both staff and children. The interviewees identified the need for business management skills, communication skills and professional development pathways. The area in which the directors had the least confidence was as advocates for childcare in the wider community. Nupponen argues that this is an area that needs to be redressed in order to promote high quality childcare. Like the article on superhero discourses, Takis Bessas, Ifigenia Vamvakidou & Argyris Kryidis (‘Greek Pre-schoolers Crayon the Politicians: a semiotic analysis of children’s drawing’) show a way to gain an understanding of children’s perceptions of the world. They conduct a semiotic analysis of children’s drawings of politicians. The drawings have specific signs, such as the use of blue or black and serious expressions to signify the politicians they are attempting to capture. These are strongly influenced by television images, suggesting early socialization. More generally, the authors are concerned with how children evolve as moral and political beings. Children are generally less cynical about politicians and the government than adults until the ages of 12 or 13. Exploration through drawing may open up children’s exploration of their political life. A colloquium by Zohra Nisar Hunzai focuses on policy initiatives in Pakistan in early childhood education. The priorities are accessibility, quality and training of teachers. There are still many barriers to providing a high standard of early childhood education. Nonetheless, at least the government has started to take this area of education more seriously as a policy arena linked to human development indicators. Book reviews in this issue include Critical Issues in Early Childhood Education, edited by Nicola Yelland and reviewed by Liz Jones; Gender Equity in the Early Years, by Naima Browne and reviewed by Kerrin Lee-Thomas; Learning from Sure Start: working with young children and their families, co-authored by Weinberger, Pickstone & Hannon and reviewed by Kathy James; and Rethinking Parent and Child Conflict, written by Susan Grieshaber and reviewed by Susan Groenke. Kerry Wardlaw & Nicola
Yelland |
Conceptualising Goodies and Baddies through Narratives of Jesus and Superman |
DOI: 10.2304/ciec.2006.7.2.97 |
| VIEW FULL TEXT | CHINESE ABSTRACT 中文摘要 | BACK TO CONTENTS LIST |
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Religion, like Superhero discourse, is a contested topic of question and debate in early childhood education. This article draws on data from a small ethnographic study that took place in a long day care centre in Sydney Australia. The study examined how children negotiated their ‘identity work’ in the context of popular culture. In this article, the author explores one example from the study in which a group of four-year-old boys drew upon discourses of Christianity and Superheroes in the negotiation of their identities within an early childhood curriculum. Using post-structural and critical theory, the article highlights how these moral and cultural epistemologies appeared easily accessible and desirable to the children and were particularly useful in their negotiated narratives of goodies and baddies. Consequently, questions are asked of the ways early childhood guidelines for practice both embody and reject discourses of religion and Superheroes because such values appear to be culturally risky in an inclusive curriculum. It is clear, therefore, that both superheroes and religion hold exchange value for some children in the negotiation of their identities, yet, such discourses are often invisible or banned in early childhood curriculum. |
| What’s the Trouble with Identity? Practices and Theories from France |
DOI: 10.2304/ciec.2006.7.2.109 |
| VIEW FULL TEXT | CHINESE ABSTRACT 中文摘要 | BACK TO CONTENTS LIST |
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To theorize the ‘becoming child’ this article presents desire rather than identity, following Deleuze and Guattari. For desire to proliferate differently, everything that social, religious and moral identities try to control and police, following Foucault, must be deconstructed, reconceptualized and enabled. To show how this is possible the article exemplifies contemporary and historical practices from France, using the author’s 30 years of experience as a researcher and a transdisciplinary sociologist there. The article thus transcends languages and normalized genres of English-language academic writing. In doing so it provides new directions for identity theory, from European genealogies and from a history of French early childhood from birth to age three. Arguing that identity is a keystone in modern capitalist society and that individualized processes come from micro-processes of subjugation, the article describes how institutions are organized not to operate or function but to assign status, identities and functions. Hence when you are a child in a preschool your identity must conform to what is demanded, and be limited to that of a preschooler or day-care child. Nevertheless, uncontrollable and unconscious desires operate. To make such theorizations, the article builds from sociology, anthropology, history and psychology. The author contends that Deleuze and Guattari’s use of desire is akin to agency, and that those adults still close to childhood keep this alive. |
| Social Ideology and Early Childhood Education: a comparative analysis of Korean early childhood teacher education textbooks written in 1993 and 2003 |
DOI: 10.2304/ciec.2006.7.2.119 |
| VIEW FULL TEXT | CHINESE ABSTRACT 中文摘要 | BACK TO CONTENTS LIST |
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Analysis of the contents of textbooks is a meaningful way to examine individuals, groups and institutions, as they reflect social values, attention and interests of a society. Education as an institution reflects a society’s social ideology, and examination of the sociocultural components of schools can reveal the cultural paradigm upon which a society is based. A content analysis of Korean undergraduate early childhood teacher education social studies textbooks was used to illuminate aspects of social change and dominant sociocultural beliefs in Korea. Specifically, textbooks written in 1993 and 2003 were examined in terms of how the authors treated Korean social concepts and pedagogical expectations of early childhood education, the needs of young children, and the roles of teachers over the two time periods, in light of the socio-historical demands of early childhood education in Korea. The primary focus of the textbook written in 1993 was the social and moral development of children, whereas the 2003 textbook stressed multiculturalism and preparation for living in a cooperative, global society. How the textbook authors’ areas of emphases reflected the sociocultural realities and expectations of Korean society at the time they are written is discussed. |
| Gender Will Find a Way: exploring how male elementary teachers make sense of their experiences and responsibilities |
DOI: 10.2304/ciec.2006.7.2.130 |
| VIEW FULL TEXT | CHINESE ABSTRACT 中文摘要 | BACK TO CONTENTS LIST |
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In recent years, public discussions over the socialization of boys have increased dramatically. These concerns have fueled a number of proposed remedies, one of which has been a push to increase the presence of men in elementary schools. To date, however, this call for increased male participation in elementary education has focused primarily on boosting the numbers of men in the field. The authors contend that simply increasing male representation is not enough. Drawing from interviews with fourteen male elementary teachers, they explore how these teachers understood and talked about their experiences and responsibilities as male teachers. At times, they illustrate ways in which they drew from dominant discourses of gender, race and class to make sense of their experiences and responsibilities. At the same time, the authors highlight moments of instability and/or potential disruptions to these discourses as men sometimes challenged or questioned traditional narratives of gender. They then identify implications for teacher education, professional development, public rhetoric and debate, and future efforts to recruit and incorporate more male teachers. |
| Framework for Developing Leadership Skills in Child Care Centres in Queensland, Australia |
DOI: 10.2304/ciec.2006.7.2.146 |
| VIEW FULL TEXT | CHINESE ABSTRACT 中文摘要 | BACK TO CONTENTS LIST |
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There has been minimal Australian research focused on leadership and management aspects of directors’ work in centre-based child care to date. In Australia, practices in early education have been drawn largely from studies in other cultural contexts, particularly research undertaken in the United States. It is timely that Australian research informs social policy about quality child care programs. The data in this article is part of a larger doctoral study where case studies of directors of child care centres were developed through interviews with the directors. The interview methodology focused on exploratory semi-structured, open-ended questions in relation to management and leadership in centre-based child care. Directors were interviewed on two occasions within a three-month period. This article concentrates on the second interview which explored directors’ perspectives on leadership. In the current context of the delivery of child care services in a market-driven climate, the language of business and organisational theory has entered the lexicon of the early childhood field. The findings indicate that directors of child care centres need to have training and experience in business management and leadership to enhance their competencies for management of centres in today’s competitive environment. |
| Greek Pre-schoolers Crayon the Politicians: a semiotic analysis of children’s drawing |
DOI: 10.2304/ciec.2006.7.2.162 |
| VIEW FULL TEXT | CHINESE ABSTRACT 中文摘要 | BACK TO CONTENTS LIST |
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This article concerns the ways in which pre-school children use the visual arts to portray their understanding of politicians. The purpose of this research was to discuss children’s drawings of politicians using semiotic analysis. The use of semiotic analysis was based on the need to understand the nature of the drawings and their relation to the ways in which children regarded their politicians. This method can be used to analyze the particular sample of children’s drawings as there is an ‘intention to inform’ and also as the signs, which offer information, are dependent on the objects-persons being described. |
| A Long-term Investment in Pakistan: early childhood education |
DOI: 10.2304/ciec.2006.7.2.174 |
| VIEW FULL TEXT | CHINESE ABSTRACT 中文摘要 | BACK TO CONTENTS LIST |
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This article explores the importance of early childhood education in the context of child development and focuses on Pakistan initiatives in the area of early childhood for long-term investment as child development and human development. |
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