Policification of Early Childhood Education and Care

Early Childhood Education in the 21st Century Vol III

Susanne Garvis, Sivanes Phillipson, Susanne Garvis, Sivanes Phillipson

• Editorial: Routledge
• Año: 2019
• ISBN:
  9781351397858
• Edición: 1
• Categoría: Education
• Categoría: Early Childhood Education

The third volume in the Early Childhood Education in the 21st Century: International Teaching, Family and Policy Perspectives miniseries focuses on research highlights and policy aspects of early childhood education and care from 22 different countries around the world.

This volume provides a platform for authors to discuss and debate the implications of research findings on current practices that reflect policies of each country. The research presented spans from challenges in teacher training to case studies of family practices around early child development to problematise the key components of teacher education and family practices that impact young children's education and care. By problematising the key issues, chapter authors discuss the shifting paradigm of early childhood education and the importance of future research in informing these changes.

Offering key policy and practice insights across 19 different countries, this book is a must-read for early childhood educators, researchers, early childhood organisations, policy makers and those interested to know more about early childhood within an international perspective.

1 Introduction to policification of early childhood education and care

Susanne Garvis and Sivanes Phillipson

Introduction

The last 20 years has seen a strong focus around the world on early childhood services to support children and their families. Many governments have invested heavily into early childhood education by creating more opportunities in early learning to provide children with the best start in life. Such provision has meant that many parents, especially mothers, have been able to return to work earlier (Conboye & Romei, 2018). In line with this progress, some governments in Europe especially have put in place further support to encourage parents to return to work as quickly as possible. Whereas in some countries such as the UK and Australia, governments have reformed welfare support and tax systems to provides incentives for parents to return to paid workforce, in some Asian countries, increasing pressure from changing society sees government paying more attention to early childhood education and services (Phillipson, Koh, & Sujuddin, 2018). These types of government investments and policy moves have meant the introduction of frameworks, curricula and legal provision for young children, with explicit and implicit implications for children’s early education and care. Importantly and fortunately, the majority of decisions by these governments have been based on informed research within early childhood education and care (Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), 2017).

In this introductory chapter, we outline the main thread of research and discussion of the 19 countries’ chapters of this book. The chapters are intended to align with the key components of teaching and family practices that impact young children’s education and care across the globe. Prior to this third volume, the first two volumes showed how each of the 19 countries showcased, though diverse in their status of early childhood education and care (ECEC), has a common goal of providing for the young children. What is important to remember in reading this third volume is that the 19 countries in this book represent a range of low to high economic statuses with a variety of government systems and cultures. Also, it is vital to highlight that no matter the country and cultural contexts, both teachers and families in the 19 countries share a desire to create opportunities for young children’s better learning and developmental outcomes.

Outline of this book

This book focuses on research highlights of early childhood education and care from 19 countries internationally. The book provides a platform for each chapter to discuss and debate the implications of research findings on current practices that reflect policies of each country. The chapters present research that spans from challenges in teacher training to case studies and observational data of child play and family practices in relation to early child development to problematise the key components of teacher education and family practices that impact young children education and care. By problematising the key issues, chapter authors discuss the shifting paradigm of early childhood education and the importance of continuous research in informing these changes. The chapters include:

• As we have witnessed, social media dominates our lives more and more. Fittingly, the second chapter authors, Clarke and Phillipson, investigate the mentoring practices of beginning teachers using Facebook in Australia. The chapter outlines the current situation for graduates of early childhood education once they begin teaching careers with a significant lack of effective leadership and mentoring. The authors provide suggestions for future policy change to initial teacher education courses to include mentoring programmes that support future early childhood teachers.

• The context of policy in Canada is presented in Chapter 3. We learn from Richardson and Langford issues surrounding the political representation of child care policy in the lead up to the elections and how it is positioned as a ‘problem’ within the public sphere. Drawing on the theoretical foundation of ‘caring democracy’, the authors propose that all citizens have a responsibility to expand the terms of engagement with child care policies.

• Authors from Chile, Cárcamo and García-Riquelme present two debates about early childhood education and care (Chapter 4). The first debate is around the issue of quality of child care centres for all children. The second debate presented is about the issues of early literacy and the introduction of teaching practices into the preschool years. The authors suggest that quality and equity require a stronger focus in public policy to try and assist equal starting conditions for all children.

• Chapter 5 explores the political processes connected to a stronger focus on learning outcomes in Danish day care institutions. Chapter author Grumløse discusses how this focus has led to a shift in paradigms from care to learning. The shift has been predominantly influenced by international tendencies to give stronger attention to the development of academic skills. Children’s day care is shown to persist as a political and pedagogical battleground in Denmark.

• Estonian preschool education policy has supported the improvement of work conditions, qualifications and training for teachers and helped to engage families and community. Chapter 6 authors, Peterson, Õun and Ugaste, provide an overview of early childhood education policy, teacher professionalism and family practices in Estonia. Through this overview, we learn of the efforts of Estonian teacher policy for 2014–2020 to support and develop the professionalism of teachers.

• Chapter 7 authors from Finland, Kangas, Harju-Luukkainen, Brotherus, Kuusisto and Gearon, outline the importance of play in the curriculum from the viewpoints of operational cultures and the learning environment. From observational data, the importance of the child as an active agent in learning emerges, however this may also create problems for adults who are unaware of elements of play that may be taking place.

• In Chapter 8, Kasüschke and Faas reflect on current developments and challenges, especially in Germany, relating to national early childhood education systems and practices in the context of globalisation and transnational education policy. It is based on the assumption that international developments and reform movements are not adopted directly in real-world educational practice, but rather are received, adapted and implemented against a background of historically developed, culture-specific structures and contexts governing action and meaning.

• In Chapter 9, Birbili and Tsitouridou draw on their experiences as teacher educators and empirical studies from the Greek context to discuss how the lack of integrated policies weakens the teacher education continuum to educate reflective professionals. The chapter provides a historical overview of Greek early childhood education before discussing current challenges set by a centralised system and the economic crisis.

• In Chapter 10, Iceland author, Dýrfjörð raises how the early childhood profession in Iceland can regain control of the sector’s educational policy. Importantly, she discusses how business-related think tanks have had a role in changing both discourses as well as the legal system surrounding preschools, especially in relation to deregulation and accountability. The chapter also presents the analysis of the development of two literacy policy documents that show how preschool teachers have been set aside in favour of experts from other disciplines. Such a move, the author laments, has led to educational policies that are driven by standardised and measurable outcomes.

• Chapter 11 author, Seo, reviews the current status of early childhood education and care services in Korea while addressing provocative issues surrounding the ramifications of ECEC policies for primary stakeholders. The move to equal starts for children began in 2012 and 2013, when a free child care policy was introduced for all children aged 0 to 5 years, regardless of family income. Around the same time, a national curriculum was also introduced. Future directions for research, practice and policy are also provided.

• In Chapter 12, the Aotearoa/New Zealand early childhood revised curriculum Te Whāriki is explored by Tyler-Merrick, Cherrington, McLaughlin, McLachlan, Aspden and Phillips. A specific focus is made on providing quality infant and toddler education and care, literacy and digital technologies within Te Whāriki. Future directions are also given to help teachers understand the curriculum through professional learning opportunities and the research of specific teacher practices.

• The struggles over quality, play and preschool in Norway is explored in Chapter 13. Authors, Tuastad, Bjørnestad and Alvestad discuss the core elements and long-lasting controversies that are deep rooted in Norwegian historical underpinnings. Using data from various projects, the investigation shows clear links between policy and society in relation to what is best for the child. The authors conclude that Norwegian policy that focuses on both child-centrism and social investment in a united model is an important step forward.

• Staying with the theme of quality, Shiyan, Shiyan, Veraksa and Veraksa (Chapter 14) share findings from a large quality-based study of preschools in Russia. The authors compare findings with the Federal State Educational Standard and preschool teacher education to reveal areas of future development to provide optimal conditions for children’s learning and development.

• In Chapter 15, Bogovac and Miškeljin discuss the current tensions and problems in initial teacher education and professional learning in Serbia. They note that there are numerous challenges with ECEC in Serbia including low coverage, inequality in access, lack of facilities and uneven geographical distribution. The authors suggest that it is necessary to initiate a change in provision of professional development by supporting alternate forms of professional development. These can involve researching teacher practice, professional networking, project development and collaborative actions.

• Authors of Chapter 16, Monk and Phillipson, problematised Singaporean in-service teachers’ struggle with their own professional identity with elements of professionalisation that they were experiencing. Using visual metaphors to highlight personal, interpersonal and institutional aspects of professionalism alongside the professionalisation of the early childhood sector, the authors present an optimistic argument for the balancing act of shifting sands of ECEC in Singapore.

• Chapter 17 continues with the theme of quality by presenting three studies from various time periods in Sweden. The chapter authors, Sheridan, Garvis, Williams and Mellgren show a gap between children and teachers’ perspectives and between policy intentions and the preschool practice. Critical factors are shared around quality that directly influence the professional and policy development, including aspects of learning within preschool contexts.

• In Chapter 18, Lin and Liu share insights about the new age of educare, highlighting challenges as well as the contextual support structures needed for the future of ECEC in Taiwan. The chapter reviews government policies around child care since 2000, showing the significant steps the Taiwanese government have made towards creating a better child care environment.

• Chapter 19 author, Duursma, discusses the changes in Dutch laws to strengthen the position of parents in ECEC. This includes the provision of language requirements for educators that is aimed at increasing the quality of overall care as well as parental engagement. Educators are expected to engage parents more directly and offer opportunities for parents and educators to work together to create communities of care.

• In Chapter 20, Çetin focuses on Turkish social policies that aim to increase enrolment in early childhood education. Various reports are analysed to show the effectiveness of social policies towards improved outcomes for child development. Overall the situation in Turkey appears to be improving, however it is still below desired levels.

• In Chapter 21, editors of this volume, Phillipson and Garvis, conclude this book by synthesising the main themes found across the chapters. Using a verbatim sorting method, the main concepts synthesised are presented as what we understand as the norm of policification internationally. This final chapter submits to the reader the challenges faced in teacher practices and family engagement in the face of shifting paradigms and policies in the 21st century.

Conclusion

This final book in the Early Childhood Education in the 21st Century series is designed to share with the reader the diversity of early childhood education and care around the world, presenting 19 countries that are located in different regions – Asia Pacific, Europe, North America and South America. These countries have different ideologies and systems of governance. The ultimate aim of this third volume ...