Critically engaging discourses on quality improvement: Political and pedagogical futures in early childhood education

Abstract

This article is a commentary developed by three early childhood teacher educators who are concerned about the negative consequences of contemporary policy trends in the United States. The commentary critically examines the influence of quality improvement in early childhood as it relates to environmental rating systems and the use of teacher performance assessments, more specifically, the Early Childhood Environmental Rating Scale and the Teacher Performance Assessment. The article concludes with a potential vision for early childhood scholars and practitioners—building solidarity to function as an emerging, powerful, ethical community of early childhood curriculum workers that thrives without consensus.

Process quality, curriculum and pedagogy in early childhood education and care

“…In ECEC research and theory, the relationship between curriculum and pedagogy is most frequently ill-defined in discussions concerning the role of play, or what is often referred to as 'play-based learning' (Pyle and Danniels, 2017 [81]) in the education and care of young children. The next section of this paper therefore considers how play and play-based learning are represented in ECEC curriculum and pedagogy.…”

“…The 'playfulness dimension' on a continuum of high playfulness to high seriousness; the 'autonomy control dimension' from mostly childinitiated to mostly adult-initiated; and the 'nature of learning dimension' from mostly emergent to mostly curriculum-goal focussed. These dimensions are identified drawing on existing literature concerning play-based learning and teaching in ECEC, including the work of Weikart (2000[160]), Siraj-Blatchford et al (2002[161]), Pyle and Danniels (2017 [81]) and Wood (2007[162]). Each of these studies address the relationship between childrencentred and adult-directed activity, seeking to understand these as relationally operational.…”

Tensions as opportunities for transformation: Applying DisCrit Resistance to early childhood teacher education programs

“…However, the ways in which teacher education has taken up professional standards and accompanying assessments are deeply grounded in narrow views of child development and developmental theory (Nagasawa and Swadener, 2020; Wild et al, 2015). For instance, in the USA, standardized pre-service teacher assessments that are espoused as evaluating pre-service teachers’ “readiness” to teach emphasize their ability to observe children according to fragmented developmental domains and subsequently make decisions about how to help children progress along preestablished developmental trajectories, promoting a universalized notion of childhood (Reinke et al, 2019). Such notions of development reinforce white, middle-class, monolingual, able-bodied norms and consequently serve to reinforce race and ability hierarchies (Ferri and Bacon, 2011; Saavedra and Pérez, 2018).…”

Discourses of children's citizenship in early childhood settings: A cross-national perspective in the global context

“…Recent studies have pointed out the impacts of developmentalist discourse on young children's citizenship (e.g., Payne, 2018, Reinke et al, 2019. Firstly, statements such as DAP emphasise individualism, but limit young children's understanding of diversity and their potentially various experiences as citizens (Phillips, 2010).…”

“…Fourthly, the quality rating tools invented based on developmental psychologies portray young children's learning and growth as definable and measurable. Children who cannot reach the learning outcome at a certain developmental stage may be viewed as 'at risk', which may diminish their agency and capacity as citizens (Reinke et al, 2019). (Coady, 2008;Kjørholt, 2019;Smith, 2007aSmith, , 2007bSmith, , 2010.…”