Abstract
The importance of the workforce in early childhood education (ECE)has often been discussed. This book is one of several works that critically analyses the current development of the workforce in early years in different countries. The word critical appears to be quite central in this book which is part of the Critical Approaches to the Early Years series. The preface introduces readers to the use of critical thinking in reading the book and in understanding current issues in ECE.
The book is edited by Verity Campbell-Barr and Jan Georgeson, who are known for their extensive work on the issue of the ECE workforce. The book, which is in three parts, consists of 11 chapters written by 21 authors in total. Each chapter tells a story of ECE practices in different countries. All the narratives in this book illuminate the importance of having international perspectives as tools to deconstruct one’s practices. As the editors argue, ‘The chapters in this book are designed to enable you to think about what shapes your role as an early childhood practitioner, to consider how your experiences are similar to those of practitioners in other countries’ (p.10).
Each chapter of the book yields a very interesting story on ECE development in each country. From ECE practices in Britain to the Philippines, the book successfully demonstrates how children, childhood and, consequently, ECE are always situated within a particular historical context. This becomes a core argument of the book as it can assist readers to recognize that understanding ECE cannot be separated from understanding of children and their context.
This book highlights the historical, sociological and political conditions that shape ECE workforces in different countries. The book provides fascinating arguments in trying to demonstrate how ECE in different countries can become a site where political values and ideas are promoted and perpetuated. From fascism (Chapter 4), Hitlerian values (Chapter 8) and Stalinist ideas (Chapters 3 and 9) to traditional and religious values (Chapters 9 and 10) and nationalism as well as democratic ideas (Chapters 2 and 3), this book shows us that ECE is not as value free and innocent as many people like to assume. ECE is, in fact, a space where ideas continue to be contested and negotiated. The book also illuminates the power relations within ECE practices in different countries. It is unfortunate that, while the book has done an excellent job in elaborating political ideologies that have shaped practices of ECE historically, it does not specifically discuss the effect of neo-liberalism on current practices of ECE throughout the world. It is only in Chapter 6 that the book talks briefly about the influence of neo-liberal policy in Australia after 1990. It is crucial to elaborate on neo-liberalism and its impact on the ECE workforce, particularly in the East. In a non-Western country like Indonesia, for example, neo-liberalism policy can be found in government documents and government collaboration with the World Bank and, in fact, many of ECE philosophies were disseminated to kindergarten in Indonesia through neo-liberal policy.
The book also shows the extent to which the ECE workforce is very much gendered. Throughout the book, it is apparent that gender remains an issue in ECE because while, ECE provides an opportunity for women to work outside their domestic sphere, at the same time, the workforce continues to be dominated by women because it is perceived as natural that women should take care of and educate young children. Even though the book calls for more participation of men in ECE, the book does not elaborate on why men need to be involved. It would seem that the reason provided in the book is still rooted in a presumption that men could challenge the feminization of ECE. I personally believe that the notion of the feminization of ECE is highly problematic, because it is often predicated on a ‘poor boy discourse’. It is possibly more important to discuss the extent to which men's involvement in ECE can potentially disrupt existing traditional gender ideology within ECE that situates men as breadwinners and women as carers of the family.
The book provides space the West and East to engage in a conversation. Without trying to reduce differences into sameness, each chapter reveals the extent to which the ECE workforce in different countries, whether Western or Eastern, share some commonalities in term of theories used and problems faced. It illustrates the extent to which ECE becomes a hybrid space where global and local values interact with one another. The book has also managed to demonstrate that the West is not one single, homogenous entity. There exist differences and variations in terms of ECE practices in Western countries. However, as a non-Western academic, I was expecting the book to bring more stories from non-Western countries. The book tells stories from only two Asian countries, Japan and the Philippines. It would have provided the readers with a deeper international perspective if more non-Western countries had been represented. I believe that, from an international perspective, the issue of visibility and representativeness is indeed fundamental.
Even though there exists room for hybridity, one can still observe the penetration of Western theories and philosophies across ECE practices, particularly in non-Western countries. Almost all authors in the book point out the effect of Froebel’s approach on the development of ECE in different countries. Each country has negotiated and resisted the use of Froebelian ideas, as in the case of Sozo Kurahashi in Japan (Chapter 7). It is clear that Froebel’s theory and practice have spread to many countries through various vehicles including politics, economics and even religious means, as in the case of the Philippines (Chapter 10). Despite the fact that local interpretation is inevitable, ECE practices are still dominated by Western approaches. The editors themselves raise an important question in the book, asking ‘why is this and what might be missing from failing to acknowledge Eastern approaches to ECE?’ (p.139). Perhaps we can answer the question by beginning to unpack and problematize not only Froebel's theory, but also its philosophical condition, such as the principle of child-centredness, and attempt to move beyond this in order to allow diverse and Eastern ECE practices to be heard.
The book serves as a very important source for students pursuing a degree in early childhood education, as well educators and researchers who want to understand the practices and problems of ECE in other countries. Therefore, as the editor claims in Chapter 1, this book should be seen as an invitation to ECE teachers and scholars to engage in a reflexive and critical process with their own philosophies and practices (p. 10).