In this article the metaphor of the storyteller is employed to argue the case for a critical phenomenology applied to understanding the “text” of the daily life-world of young children in childcare settings. The ideology of “preschooling” is examined and specific case studies of young rebels are presented. With the aid of Gadamer's notion of the “fusion of horizons,” an attempt is made to understand the experiential world of the young child. In the process, themes depicting the social landscape of early institutional life are discussed.
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