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ERIC Number: EJ1295618
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2021-May
Pages: 14
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: EISSN-1478-2103
EISSN: N/A
One Ring to Rule Them All? Locating Discourse in Aotearoa New Zealand Early Childhood Education Curriculum
Westbrook, Fiona; White, Jayne
Policy Futures in Education, v19 n4 p424-437 May 2021
Early childhood scholars in New Zealand have long lamented a rising dominance of neoliberalism. Correspondingly they suggest that there has been a lessening of socialist ideals and principles of Te Ao Maori after years of a right-wing government. With the 'refresh' of New Zealand's national early childhood curriculum, "Te Whariki" under the Fifth National Government we sought to investigate the location of these discourses in "Te Whariki." Borrowing from Tolkien this paper draws on the metaphor of a ruling, in this case neoliberal, discourse as 'one ring to rule them all'. We investigate the governmentality of the Fifth National Government through their "Four Year Plan 2016-2020" and its permeation of the revised curriculum. Seeking to better understand the location and dominance of neoliberalism within the updated "Te Whariki," the paper analyses both the 1996 curriculum and the 2017 revision for socialist, neoliberal and Te Ao Maori discourses, and their status within the document. A post-structuralist conceptual framework is employed for this study, bringing to bear Michel Foucault and Julia Kristeva in conversation. Analysis across both "Te Whariki" and the "Four Year Plan" found that while neoliberalism was certainly a pervasive discourse, it was, in fact, accompanied by discourses of socialism, neoliberalism and Te Ao Maori. The paper concludes by suggesting that, while neoliberalism may appear to dominate texts, there are complex interanimations between a number of discourses. This multitude potentially ameliorates any one discourse's domination or, conversely, compromises others. With these findings come important implications concerning the pervasive discourse of neoliberalism and its shaping potential. However, there are also concerns for a new form of colonisation within early childhood curriculum and policy reform.
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: http://bibliotheek.ehb.be:2814
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Early Childhood Education; Preschool Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: New Zealand
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A