TY - CHAP
T1 - Decolonising early childhood education
T2 - Disrupting professional discourses
AU - Devarakonda, Chandrika
AU - Kustatscher, Marlies
PY - 2024
Y1 - 2024
N2 - In this chapter we share our reflections on decolonising early childhood education in our respective contexts of England and Scotland, and the implications for early childhood practitioners. The foundations of early childhood education have traditionally been shaped by white, male, Global North perspectives that position young children as ‘innocent’ and unknowledgeable, as defined by developmental discourses and milestones, and as sites of economic investment within neoliberal politics. We challenge the relevance of these ideas in diverse and evolving contexts. We provide some suggestions on how early childhood practitioners can work towards decolonising early childhood education by unlearning prejudiced assumptions, and by relearning new perspectives in disrupting hegemonic whiteness, and advocating for structural and institutional change.
AB - In this chapter we share our reflections on decolonising early childhood education in our respective contexts of England and Scotland, and the implications for early childhood practitioners. The foundations of early childhood education have traditionally been shaped by white, male, Global North perspectives that position young children as ‘innocent’ and unknowledgeable, as defined by developmental discourses and milestones, and as sites of economic investment within neoliberal politics. We challenge the relevance of these ideas in diverse and evolving contexts. We provide some suggestions on how early childhood practitioners can work towards decolonising early childhood education by unlearning prejudiced assumptions, and by relearning new perspectives in disrupting hegemonic whiteness, and advocating for structural and institutional change.
KW - early childhood education
KW - decolonisation
KW - unlearning
KW - hegemonic whiteness
UR - https://bookstore.emerald.com/the-bera-guide-to-decolonising-the-curriculum-pb-9781835491478.html
M3 - Chapter (peer-reviewed)
SN - 9781835491478
SP - 41
EP - 50
BT - The BERA Guide to Decolonising the Curriculum
A2 - Moncrieffe, Marlon Lee
A2 - Fakunle, Omolabake
A2 - Kustatscher, Marlies
A2 - Olsson Rost, Anna
PB - Emerald Group Publishing
ER -