Reconfiguring Teacher Agency within Market-Driven Early Childhood Spaces

Autor/in	Kamenarac, Olivera
Titel	Reconfiguring Teacher Agency within Market-Driven Early Childhood Spaces
Quelle	In: Policy Futures in Education, 21 (2023) 8, S.932-946 (15 Seiten)Infoseite zur Zeitschrift PDF als Volltext Verfügbarkeit
Zusatzinformation	ORCID (Kamenarac, Olivera)
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Zeitschriftenaufsatz
DOI	10.1177/14782103221110976
Schlagwörter	Early Childhood Education; Educational Quality; Neoliberalism; Professional Autonomy; Early Childhood Teachers; Private Education; Commercialization; Teacher Attitudes; Privatization; Foreign Countries; New Zealand + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Early childhood; Education; Frühkindliche Bildung; Frühpädagogik; Quality of education; Bildungsqualität; Neo-liberalism; Neoliberalismus; Berufsfreiheit; Early childhood education; Teacher; Teachers; Frühe Kindheit; Lehrer; Lehrerin; Lehrende; Privatunterricht; Lehrerverhalten; Privatisation; Privatisierung; Ausland; Neuseeland
Abstract	Neoliberal reforms have transformed the early childhood education (ECE) landscape worldwide. The purpose of ECE, what counts as early education and care, and "in" ECE has been dangerously narrowed to the production of human capital and rationalised by the myth that investing in young children (human capital) will guarantee a better economic future. In this manner, individuals' efforts and talents achieved through 'high-quality ECE' become critical determinators of their own and a country's success. At the same time, individuals' characteristics and pre-determined circumstances (e.g. race, gender, socioeconomic background), including underlying causes of inequality in society, become a fault of those not exercising the right to 'freely choose' from opportunities available on the market. Consistent with a body of literature documenting the damaging impacts of neoliberalism on early childhood education (ECE), this article explores how teacher agency has been reconfigured under a neoliberal framing of ECE in New Zealand. Drawing on a qualitative study with teachers from private-for-profit ECE centres, the article argues that marketisation and privatisation have broken the spirit of collective agency and sense of belonging in the sector, and construed some teachers as business agents contributing, knowingly or unknowingly, to the individual interests of business owners and investors rather than ECE as a public good. (As Provided).
Anmerkungen	SAGE Publications. 2455 Teller Road, Thousand Oaks, CA 91320. Tel: 800-818-7243; Tel: 805-499-9774; Fax: 800-583-2665; e-mail: journals@sagepub.com; Web site: https://sagepub.com
Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC
Update	2024/1/01