The ideal early childhood teacher?
Discursive constructions of professionalism in ECEC policy in Aotearoa
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.26686/nzaroe.v29.9455Keywords:
ECEC policy, critical discourse analysis, teacher identities, professionalismAbstract
In policy, teachers are persistently positioned as central to improving the quality of early childhood education and care (ECEC). They are frequently the targets for policy reform that proactively seeks to shape teaching priorities and practices. The constructions of teachers in policy shape notions of ideal professional identities, opening up spaces for certain identities and closing spaces for others. This critical discourse analysis of seven key ECEC policy texts assembles a range of discourses to identify and critically examine two prevalent and distinct 'ideal' professional identities for early childhood teachers: The Professional and The Kaiako.
Downloads
References
Archer, N. (2022). Uncovering the discursive 'borders' of professional identities in English early childhood workforce reform policy. Policy Futures in Education, 22(2), 1-20. https://doi.org/10.1177/14782103221138013 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/14782103221138013
Arndt, S., Urban, M., Murray, C., Smith, K., Swadner, B., & Ellegarrd, T. (2018). Contesting early childhood professional identities: A cross-national discussion. Contemporary Issues in Early Childhood, 19(2), 97-116. https://doi.org/10.1177/1463949118768356 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/1463949118768356
Ball, S. J. (2007). Education PLC: Understanding private sector participation in public sector education. Routledge.
Biesta, G. (2017). Education, measurement, and the professions: Reclaiming a space for democratic professionality in education. Education Philosophy and Theory, 49(4), 315-330. https://doi.org/10.1080/00131857.2015.1048665 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/00131857.2015.1048665
Brooker, L. (2016). Childminders, parents and policy: Testing the triangle of care. Journal of Early Childhood Research, 14(1), 83. https://doi.org/10.1177/1476718X14548779 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/1476718X14548779
Carr, M., Lee, W., & Jones, C. (2004-2009). Kei tua o te pae: Assessment for learning: Early childhood exemplars.
Chan, A., & Ritchie, J. (2016). Parents, participation, partnership: Problematising New Zealand early childhood education. Contemporary Issues in Early Childhood, 17(3), 289-303. https://doi.org/10.1177/1463949116660954 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/1463949116660954
Chan, A., & Ritchie, J. (2020). Exploring a Tiriti-based superdiversity paradigm within early childhood education and care in Aotearoa New Zealand. Contemporary Issues in Early Childhood. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1177/1463949120971376 DOI: https://doi.org/10.26686/wgtn.13237157
Dahlberg, G., Moss, P., & Pence, A. R. (2007). Beyond quality in early childhood education and care: Languages of evaluation (2nd ed.). Taylor & Francis. DOI: https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203966150
Early Childhood Care and Education Working Group. (1988). Education to be more. New Zealand Department of Education.
ECE Taskforce. (2011). An agenda for amazing children: Final report of the ECE taskforce. Ministry of Education.
Education Council of Aotearoa New Zealand. (2011). Tātaiako: Cultural competencies for teachers of Māori learners. Author.
Education Council of Aotearoa New Zealand. (2017). Our code our standards: Code of professional responsibility and standards for the teaching profession: Ngā tikanga matatika ngā paerewa: Ngā tikanga matatika mō te haepapa ngaiotanga me ngā paerewa mō te umanga whakaakoranga. Author.
Education Counts. (2021). ECE staffing. https://www.educationcounts.govt.nz/statistics/staffing
Education Review Office. (2010). Success for Māori in early childhood services. Author.
Education Review Office. (2013). He pou tātaki: How ERO reviews early childhood services. https://www.ero.govt.nz/assets/Uploads/He-Pou-Tataki-July-2014.pdf
Education Review Office. (2016). Effective internal evaluation for improvement. https://ero.govt.nz/our-research/effective-internal-evaluation-for-improvement
Fairclough, N. (2013). Critical discourse analysis and critical policy studies. Critical Policy Studies, 7(2), 177-197. https://doi.org/10.1080/19460171.2013.798239 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/19460171.2013.798239
Gee, J. P. (2011). Discourse analysis: What makes it critical? In R. Rogers (Ed.), Introduction to critical discourse analysis in education (2nd ed., pp. 23-45). Routledge.
Gee, J. P. (2014). An introduction to discourse analysis: Theory and method (4th ed.). Routledge. DOI: https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315819679
Gee, J. P. (2018). An introduction to discourse analysis: From grammar to society. Routledge.
Gould, K. (2021). Early childhood teacher identities and the complex business of ECE in Aotearoa (Unpublished doctoral thesis). University of Auckland. https://hdl.handle.net/2292/57644
Kamenarac, O. (2019). Discursive constructions of teachers' professional identities in early childhood policies and practice in Aotearoa New Zealand: Complexities and contradictions (Unpublished doctoral thesis). University of Waikato. https://hdl.handle.net/10289/12363
Lourie, M. (2016). Bicultural Education Policy in New Zealand, Journal of Education Policy, 31(5), 637-650. https://doi.org/10.1080.02680939.2016.11559339 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/02680939.2016.1159339
May, H. (2019). Politics in the playground: The world of early childhood education in New Zealand (3rd ed.). Otago Press.
Ministry of Education. (1996a). Quality in action: Te mahi whai hua. Implementing the revised desirable objectives and practices in New Zealand. Learning Media.
Ministry of Education. (1996b). Te Whāriki — He Whāriki Mātauranga Mo Ngā Mokopuna o Aotearoa — Early Childhood Curriculum. Learning Media.
Ministry of Education. (2002). Pathways to the future: Ngā huarahi arataki: 2002-2012: A 10-year strategic plan for early childhood education. Author.
Ministry of Education. (2006). Ngā arohaehae: Self-review guidelines for early childhood Education.
Ministry of Education. (2007). Ka Hikitia: Managing for success 2007-2012. https://www.education.govt.nz/our-work/overall-strategies-and-policies/ka-hikitia-ka-hapaitia/ka-hikitia-history/ka-hikitia-managing-for-success-2008-2012/
Ministry of Education. (2012). Ka Hikitia — Accelerating success 2013-2017. https://www.education.govt.nz/our-work/overall-strategies-and-policies/ka-hikitia-ka-hapaitia/ka-hikitia-history/ka-hikitia-accelerating-success-20132017/
Ministry of Education. (2017). Te Whāriki: He whāriki mātauranga mo ngā mokopuna o Aotearoa: Early childhood curriculum. Author.
Ministry of Education. (2019). He taonga te tamaiti: Every child a taonga: Action plan for early learning.
https://conversation-space.s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/SES_0342_ELS_10YP_Final+Report_Web.pdf
Ministry of Education. (2020). Ka hikitia – Ka hāpaitia. https://www.education.govt.nz/our-work/overall-strategies-and-policies/ka-hikitia-ka-hapaitia/
Moffatt, K., Panitch, M., Parada, H., Todd, S., Barnoff, L., & Aslett, J. (2016). "Essential cogs in the innovation machine": The discourse of innovation in Ontario educational reform. Review of Education, Pedagogy, and Cultural Studies, 38(4), 317-340. https://doi.org/10.1080/10714413.2016.1203680 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/10714413.2016.1203680
O'Neill, J. (2005). Policies on teachers and teaching: More of the same? In J. Codd & K. Sullivan (Eds.), Education policy directions in Aotearoa New Zealand (pp. 115-126). Thomson Dunmore Press.
Ortlipp, M., Arthur, L., & Woodrow, C. (2011). Discourses of the Early Years Learning Framework: Constructing the early childhood professional. Contemporary Issues in Early Childhood, 12(1), 56-70. https://doi.org/10.2304/ciec.2011.12.1.56 DOI: https://doi.org/10.2304/ciec.2011.12.1.56
Osgood, J. (2012). Narratives from the nursery: Negotiating professional identities in early childhood. Routledge.
Osgood, J. (2014). Contested constructions of professionalism within the nursery. In L. Miller & C. Cable (Eds.), Professionalization, leadership and management in the early years (pp. 107-118). Sage. DOI: https://doi.org/10.4135/9781446288795.n8
Press, F., & Skattebol, J. (2007). Early childhood activism, minor politics and resuscitating vision: A tentative foray into the use of 'intersections' to influence early childhood policy. Contemporary Issues in Early Childhood, 8(3), 180-191. http://dx.doi.org/10.2304/ciec.2007.8.3.180 DOI: https://doi.org/10.2304/ciec.2007.8.3.180
Ritchie, J., Skerrett, M., & Rau, C. (2014). Kei tua i te awe māpara: Countercolonial unveiling of neoliberal discourses in Aotearoa New Zealand. International Review of Qualitative Research, 7(1), 111–129. https://doi.org/10.1525/irqr.2014.7.1.111 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1525/irqr.2014.7.1.111
Rogers, R. (2011). Critical approaches to discourse analysis in educational research. In R. Rogers (Ed.), An introduction to critical discourse analysis in education (2nd ed., pp. 1-20). Routledge. DOI: https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203836149
Skerrett, M., Ritchie, J., & Rau, C. (2013). Neoliberalism and discourses of ‘quality’ in early childhood care and education in Aotearoa New Zealand. New Zealand Educational Institute Te Riu Roa. https://hdl.handle.net/10652/2823
Vincent, C., & Ball, S. (2006). Childcare, choice and class practices: Middle-class parents and their children. Routledge. DOI: https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203012413
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
The Author(s) retain ownership of the copyright in the Article but hereby grant the Publisher an exclusive license to publish the article.
NZAROE gives authors full permission to deposit their articles in publicly accessible institutional repositories, providing that:
- Articles are placed in repositories after publication.
- Metadata about articles include the DOI and journal issue information.
