Suchergebnisse

The article examines the question of the agentic force of documents in institutional practices and proposes a conceptual model of the agentic relation between documentation and human actors. For this aim, it presents an empirical case study of Finnish early childhood education and care. The study deals with individual education plans (IEPs), which are an example of child documentation that aims at an individualised and participatory pedagogy. The analytical focus is on a single topic of an IEP, the child's afternoon naps, and how these are negotiated in the three-party encounter between a parent, a practitioner and the IEP document. The theoretical framework draws on the theories of documentality and institutional ethnography, on the analytic of government, and on the idea of domestication. The analysis applies the approach of discursive constructionism. By analysing the negotiations related to napping, the study demonstrates not only aspects of the agentic force of the IEP document, but also human resistance of it. ; peerReviewed

This article examines the Individual Educational Plan forms (hereafter IEP forms) used in planning for a child's early childhood education and care (ECEC) in Finnish day care from the perspectives of social constructionism and discourse analysis. The National Curriculum Guidelines on Early Childhood Education and Care (Stakes, 2004 & 2005) require an Individual Educational Plan (IEP) to be drawn up for each child. Municipalities typically develop a local IEP form to be used in parent-teacher meetings at which the child's IEP is discussed. The study examines how these IEP forms construct and frame parental and professional involvement in individual ECEC planning, and demonstrates that the positions of the parties in the IEP forms can be illustrated by two frames: an interview frame and a contract frame. These frames are considered in the present article in relation to the aims and principles articulated in the National Curriculum Guidelines on ECEC, which define the parent-teacher relationship as representing a partnership. The article also discusses the implications of the governing functions of the IEP forms from the perspective of the parent and the teacher.

The article analyses how the implementation of early childhood education plans in Finland is linked with international trends and what happens in the process through which such worldwide ideals are domesticated to the local conditions. Through a detailed analysis of different stages of the process, the article sheds light on the question of how, to what extent and at which levels the national path of change is converged with those in other countries. The results show that the early childhood education system has not fully met its declared objectives. However, it is emphasized that declared objectives of a reform must not be confused with the 'original', perhaps worldwide model, which is then contrasted with actual practices. Similarly, the actual form that the new practices assume must not be mistaken for the effect of a genuinely national tradition. Rather, the ideals and objectives stated in the documents related to the reform in question must be seen as part of the political process and of a global form of governance that the reformed policy represents. Not only the model being domesticated but the rationalities, counterarguments and forms of resistance which different parties invoke to defend their interests are often transnational.

The paper studies the forms that are used in planning for a child's early childhood education and care in Finnish day care from the perspectives of social constructionism and discourse analysis. It asks how childhood is conceptualised in these forms and what are the social functions of early childhood education and care as implied in the conceptualisations. The paper shows that the conceptions of childhood and the understanding of the functions of early childhood education and care are mostly in unison and are rooted in traditional discourses, approaches and practices of Finnish day care. Consequently, the child's view and the child as an agent in her/his world are not present in the forms.

How parents spend time with their children, what they teach their children and how they raise them in the early years have again become topics of policymaking and public debate. There is an intensive discussion about parental involvement in early childhood education and care (ECEC). The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development's Starting Strong series provides ECEC policy guidelines for national governments that include guides for parental involvement. With inspiration from the sociocultural policy approach, this paper suggests that there has been a shift in the Starting Strong series from underlining policy ideals for parental partnership to focussing on the learning environment. This paper examines how these transnational ideals (re)appear, transform and shift in the ECEC policy documents released in the first two decades of the 21st century in two Nordic countries: Denmark and Finland. Both Nordic countries have been involved in the Starting Strong series since the turn of the millennium. The paper also outlines how transnational ideals have become entangled in policy documents in these Nordic contexts in varied ways and how parental involvement is politicised across each of the two countries. We argue that this politicisation not only marks an intensification in parenting but also attempts to institutionalise the ECEC–family relationship, implying that the parent as well as the child must be enlightened. Thus, we seek to question the process of problematising the parent and the child's home in the policies and to enable new thinking and action to address this issue.

AbstractThis article investigates the temporal orders of families as the daily rhythms and schedules when one or both parents work non‐standard hours. Our focus is especially on the often asynchronous times of non‐standard work, on one hand, and of early childhood education and care (ECEC) services and other institutions, on the other hand. The data consist of semi‐structured qualitative interviews of Finnish parents with a four‐year‐old child. The results show that the asynchronous times generated by non‐standard working hours cause a wide range of collisions both in relation to childcare and ECEC and to the division of labour between parents. The parents are 'wrestling', not only because of the asynchrony of their own work but also because of the 'pedagogical rhythm' created by ECEC professionals. However, the parents also find ways to manage time, facilitated by workplace flexibility or spousal negotiations over the sharing of responsibilities.

In Finland, early childhood education and care (ECEC) is traditionally publicly provided. However, private ECEC provision has increased during the past decade, largely as a result of financial support from the public sector. Drawing on qualitative interviews with municipal decision-makers, this article identifies three frames within which publicly subsidised private ECEC provision and marketisation are rationalised: the pragmatic frame, the government frame and the choice frame. The results show that even though market logics and tendencies seem to have gained a strong foothold in local policies, there is a keen interest in universalism and maintaining public control over local ECEC provision. ; peerReviewed

Background: In 1994, the African National Congress identified early childhood development as a potential strategy to redress the inequalities of apartheid, however, two and a half decades later, poverty still persists, and South Africa is one of the most unequal countries in the world. Aim: This article explores how policy texts based on and with the use of certain data practices establish 'truths' about childhoods and society, construct families and communities, and determine forms of provision to address inequality. Setting: In 2015, the South African government published the National Integrated Early Childhood Policy (NIECDP) to continue to address poverty and inequality. Its implementation increasingly draws on data practices that measure and inform solutions. The use of data practices, while also providing needed information, prioritises solutions that proceed in technocratic ways instead of facilitating social change. Methods: With a critical discourse analysis of policy texts and the introduction of alternatives, the analysis seeks to highlight the power and knowledge hierarchies that construct the policies of NIECDP. Results: This article demonstrates how discourses and data practices prioritise 'the government of poverty' instead of helping to eliminate it and silence the voices of those living with poverty. This form of government through data also undermines the policy's potential to respond to the different life chances resulting from the diverse conditions in which young children live in South Africa. Conclusion: This article seeks to re-open a debate that the NIECDP successfully silenced, specifically who benefits, who speaks and who is silenced. ; peerReviewed

In this article, we utilize an application of Deleuze and Quattari's (1987) concept of assemblage to explore and better understand the interconnectedness and materiality of the policies of early childhood education and care (ECEC). To exemplify how directing our focus to assemblages can further the understanding of policies in the everyday life of families, we will present a Finnish case of entitlement to ECEC. Since 1996, children under school age have enjoyed the entitlement to full-day ECEC provided by local authorities. In 2016, the Finnish parliament enforced new legislation that allows municipalities to limit this entitlement to 20 hours per week unless the child's parents work or study full-time. By drawing on interviews with parents of one-year-old children (n=14), we will illuminate the component parts of ECEC arrangements. The case offers empirical insights in terms of how constructing ECEC policies as "assembled" can aid us in contesting two beliefs that have a firm position in the public debate: the idea of the parent's "free choice" and the notion of national policies having a hegemonic role in determining opportunities for agency. ; peerReviewed

In this article, we utilize an application of Deleuze and Quattari's (1987) concept of assemblage to explore and better understand the interconnectedness and materiality of the policies of early childhood education and care (ECEC). To exemplify how directing our focus to assemblages can further the understanding of policies in the everyday life of families, we will present a Finnish case of entitlement to ECEC. Since 1996, children under school age have enjoyed the entitlement to full-day ECEC provided by local authorities. In 2016, the Finnish parliament enforced new legislation that allows municipalities to limit this entitlement to 20 hours per week unless the child's parents work or study full-time. By drawing on interviews with parents of one-year-old children (n=14), we will illuminate the component parts of ECEC arrangements. The case offers empirical insights in terms of how constructing ECEC policies as "assembled" can aid us in contesting two beliefs that have a firm position in the public debate: the idea of the parent's "free choice" and the notion of national policies having a hegemonic role in determining opportunities for agency.