Love as an act of resistance: Ethical subversion in early childhood professional practice in England

Abstract

Challenging the conventional binary of morality and subversion as opposing forces, this article presents a new construct of ethical subversion in early childhood education and care professional practice. The conceptual framework combines constructs of emotional labour and care ethics, and theorising on power and subversive tactics. Text generated from focus group discussions and individual semi-structured interviews with graduate early childhood education and care practitioners provides the concrete corpus for Foucauldian discourse analysis. Critical analysis elucidates how, on the one hand, practitioners working in England experience ethical boundaries reflecting dominant discourses, while, on the other, they feel morally committed to care responsively even if it contravenes rule-based ethics. Ethical subversion is born from both reason and emotion: these are acts of loving disobedience by experienced practitioners who possess a deep understanding of risk and the critical implications of their rule-bending. Ethical subversion is relational and individualistic, supporting a care pedagogy focusing on the individual care needs of young children. Conceptualisation of ethical subversion raises important issues in the areas of ethics, management and professionalism: ethical subversion is constructed as a powerful phenomenon, with potential for effecting positive transformation in the lives of children and their families, while simultaneously augmenting constructs of professionalism in early childhood education and care in England.

“Not everyone can do this”: childcare context and the practice of skill in emotional labor

“…Others, too, have written about similar dynamics characterizing constructed professionalization norms in the ECEC sector (Bolton, 2005 ; Cohen, 2010 ; Ed. Langford, 2019 ; Fairchild & Mikuska, 2021 ; Mikuska & Fairchild, 2020 ; Morris, 2021 ; Payne, 2009 ; Taggart, 2011 ; Vincent & Braun, 2013 ). In the ECEC sector, credentialing requirements which have been associated with enhanced service quality, have been a central component of professionalization efforts.…”

“…Studies from outside the United States, too, explore the role of emotions in ECEC work settings (Bolton, 2005 ; Cohen, 2010 ; Ed. Langford, 2019 ; Fairchild & Mikuska, 2021 ; Mikuska & Fairchild, 2020 ; Morris, 2021 ; Osgood, 2010 ; Payne, 2009 ; Taggart, 2011 ; Vincent & Braun 2013 ). Even studies on ECEC work not focused on emotional labor, reveal how workers navigate emotional and business aspects of work (Armenia, 2006 ; Tuominen, 2003 ; Uttal, 2002 ).…”

“…Even studies on ECEC work not focused on emotional labor, reveal how workers navigate emotional and business aspects of work (Armenia, 2006 ; Tuominen, 2003 ; Uttal, 2002 ). As Morris ( 2021 ) notes, in the context of the ECEC sector, there is a requirement to navigate a dynamic tension between an embodied care ethic and the pragmatism of self-regulation. Family-based providers, for instance, traverse a ‘marketized private life’ (Hochschild, 1983 ) through boundary work 5 and strategies of detached attachment (Nelson, 1990 ; Rodriquez, 2016 ).…”

“…With this as context, this paper contributes to ongoing scholarly debates about emotional labor, skills and the socio-cultural construction of professionalization across ECEC contexts (Bolton, 2005 ; Cohen, 2010 ; Ed. Langford, 2019 ; Fairchild & Mikuska, 2021 ; Mikuska & Fairchild, 2020 ; Morris, 2021 ; Osgood, 2010 ; Payne, 2009 ; Taggart, 2011 ; Vincent & Braun, 2013 ). Specifically, the paper demonstrates that in both family and center-based care settings, work is skilled.…”

“…In doing so, the paper examines critiques of credentialing requirements for ECEC workers in Massachusetts that equate higher skills with improved quality care and obscure skills in emotional labor (Bolton, 2005 ; Cohen, 2010 ; Ed. Langford, 2019 ; Fairchild & Mikuska, 2021 ; Mikuska & Fairchild, 2020 ; Morris, 2021 ; Osgood, 2010 ; Payne, 2009 ; Taggart, 2011 ; Tuominen, 2002 ; Uttal, 2002 ; Vincent & Braun, 2013 ).…”