showing 2 related works from this author
Data practices and inequality in South African early childhood development policy: Technocratic management versus social transformation
2019
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 implementat…
Binds of Professionalism: Attachment in Australian and Finnish Early Years Policy
2016
Attachment theory is often referenced in psychology, social work and early childhood care and education, and is ubiquitous in popular publications directed to parents, carers and educators of young children. It is considered as a ‘grand theory’ that explains “the growth of social relationships from infants’ experiences with their caregivers and the consequent social preference called attachment” (Mercer, 2011, p. 26). In this chapter, we understand attachment theory as a discourse and as part of the ‘psy-complex’, “the sprawling speculative and regulative network of theories and practices that constitute psychology” (Parker, 2002, p. 199). We focus on the operation of ‘attachment discourses…