WE ARE CURRENTLY EXPERIENCING an exciting time in early childhood as the Federal Government attempts to develop policies and systems to improve outcomes for our children. Recent advances in research have provided us with much evidence underpinning the new thinking. However, much of this evidence is still subject to interpretation, and it is my contention that common interpretations are significantly limited by our strong national culture of patriarchy. In this paper, I identify some of the policy implications of this ontogenic knowledge, and suggest an alternative viewpoint.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
AriasO. (2000/2001). 2000 Conference Keynote Address: Dr Oscar Arias. TASH Newsletter, 26/27(12/1), 13–16.
2.
BillettS. (1996). Constructing vocational knowledge: History, communities and ontogeny. Journal of Vocational Education and Training, 48(2), 141–154.
3.
BocciaM., & PedersenC. (2001). Brief vs long maternal separations in infancy: Contrasting relationships with adult maternal behaviour and lactation levels of aggression and anxiety. Psychoneuroendocrinology, 26, 657–672.
4.
BrunerJ., & HasteH. (Eds.). (1990). Making sense: The child's construction of the world. London: Routledge.
5.
CaputoV. (2007). She's from a ‘good family’: Performing childhood and motherhood in a Canadian private school setting. Childhood, 14, 173–192.
6.
Clarke-StewartK., VandellD., BurchinalM., O'BrienM., & McCartneyK. (2002). Do regulable features of child-care homes affect children's development?Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 17(1), 52–86.
7.
Commonwealth Child Care Advisory Council (2001). Child care: Beyond 2001.Canberra: Commonwealth of Australia.
8.
CookP. (2002). Memorandum on maternity leave, new research, and making profits out of preschoolers. Journal, 2002(December 4).
9.
DickersonS., & KemenyM. (2004). Acute stressors and cortisol responses: a theoretical integration and synthesis of laboratory research. Psychological Bulletin, 130(3), 355–391.
10.
Early Childhood Development Subgroup (2008). A national quality framework for early childhood education and care. A discussion paper.Canberra: Productivity Agenda Working Group—Education, Skills, Training and Early Childhood Development, Council of Australian Governments.
11.
FrenchJ., FiteJ., & RossC. (2008). Family life in marmosets: Causes and consequences of variations in caregiving. In BridgesR. (Ed.), Neurobiology of the parental brain (pp. 461–477). Burlington, MA: Academic Press.
12.
GelmanR. (1997). Constructing and using conceptual competence. Cognitive Development, 12, 305–313.
13.
GerhardtS. (2004). Why love matters. How affection shapes a baby's brain.Hove: Bruner Routledge.
14.
GunnarM. (2006). Social regulation of stress in early child development. In McCartneyK. & PhillipsD. (Eds.), Handbook of Early childhood Development (pp. 106–125). Malden, MA: Blackwell.
15.
GunnarM., LarsonM., HertsgaardL., HarrisM., & BrodersenL. (1992). The stressfulness of separation among nine-month old infants: effects of social context variables and infant temperament. Child Development, 63, 290–303.
16.
HeckmanJ. (2006). Investing in disadvantaged young children is an economically efficient policy. Paper presented at the Committee for Economic Development, Pew Charitable Trusts, 10 January 2006. New York. Retrieved 13 April 2006, www.ced.org.
17.
HeckmanJ., & LochnerL. (2000). Rethinking education and training policy: understanding the sources of skill formation in a modern economy. In DanzigerS. & WaldfogelJ. (Eds.), Securing the future. Investing in children from birth to college. (pp. 47–83). New York: Russell Sage Foundation.
18.
HrdyS. (2008). Co-operative breeding and the paradox of facilitative fathering. In BridgesR. (Ed.), Neurobiology of the parental brain (pp. 407–416). Burlington, MA: Academic Press.
19.
HutchinsT., & SimsM. (1999). Program planning for Infants and Toddlers. An ecological approach.Sydney: Prentice Hall.
20.
JacksonJ. (1993). Multiple caregiving among African Americans and infant attachment: The need for an emic approach. Human Development, 36(2), 87–102.
21.
JohnstonD., & SwansonD. (2003). Invisible mothers: A content analysis of motherhood ideologies and myths in magazines. Sex Roles, 49, 21–33.
22.
KaffmanA., & MeaneyM. (2007). Neurodevelopmental sequelae of postnatal maternal care in rodents: Clinical and research implications of molecular insights. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 48(3/4), 224–244.
23.
KringelbachM., LehtonenA., SquireS., HarveyA., CraskeM., HollidayI., (2008). A specific and rapid neural signature for parental instinct. Plos One, 3(2), 1–7.
24.
McCainM., MustardF., & ShankerS. (2007). Early Years Study 2: Putting science into action.Toronto: Council for Early Childhood Development.
25.
MustardF. (2008). Investing in the early years: Closing the gap between what we know and what we do.Adelaide, SA: Government of South Australia.
26.
NICHD Early Child Care Research Network (1997). Results of the NICHD study of early Child Care. Child Development, 68(5), 860–879.
27.
NICHD Early Child Care Research Network (2002a). Child care structure-process-outcome: Direct and indirect effects of child-care quality on young children's development. Psychological Science, 13(3), 199–206.
28.
NICHD Early Child Care Research Network (2002b). Early child care and children's development prior to school entry: Results from the NICHD study of early child care. American Educational Research Journal, 39(1), 133–164.
29.
NSW Commission for Children and Young People and National Investment for the Early Years (NIFTeY). (2008). Submission to the Productivity Commission inquiry into paid maternity, paternity and parental leave.Surrey Hills, NSW: Author.
30.
O'ConnorJ., OrloffA., & ShaverS. (1999). States, markets, families: Gender, liberalism and social policy in Australia, Canada, Great Britain and the United States.Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
31.
OlazabalD., & YoungL. (2008). Oxytocin and individual variation in parental care in Praire Voles. In BridgesR. (Ed.), Neurobiology of the parental brain (pp. 333–345). Burlingtin, MA: Academic Press.
32.
Peisner-FeinbergE., BurchinalM., CliffordR., CulkinA., HowesC., KaganS., (2000). The children of the cost, quality and outcomes study go to school: Technical Report.Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina, Frank Porter Graham Child Development Center.
33.
PiagetJ. (1952). The origins of intelligence in children. New York: International Universities Press.
34.
PressF., & HayesA. (2001). OECDThematic review of early childhood education and care policy. Australian background report.Canberra: Department of Education, Training and Youth Affairs.
35.
PurhonenM., PaakkonenA., YpparilaH., LehtonenJ., & KarhuJ. (2001). Effects of maternity on auditory event-related potentials to human sound. NeuroReport, 12, 2975–2979.
36.
RepettiR., TaylorS., & SeemanT. (2002). Risky families: Family social environments and the mental and physical health of offspring. Psychological Bulletin, 128(2), 330–366.
37.
ReynoldsM., & SaltersM. (1995). Models of competence and teacher training. Cambridge Journal of Education, 25(3), 349–359.
38.
SaggersS., & SimsM. (2005). Diversity: Beyond the nuclear family. In PooleM. (Ed.), Family: Changing families, changing times. (pp. 66–87). Sydney: Allen & Unwin.
39.
SchweinhartL., MontieJ., XiangZ., BarnettW., BelfieldC., & NoresM. (2005). Lifetime effects: The High/Scope Perry Preschool Study through age 40. Ypsilanti, Michigan: High/Scope Educational Research Foundation.
40.
SeplakiC., GoldmanN., WeinsteinM., & Yu-HsuanL. (2004). How are biomarkers related to physical and mental well-being?Journal of Gerontology, 59A(3), 201–217.
41.
ShonkoffJ., & PhillipsD. (Eds.) (2000b). From neurons to neighbourhoods: The science of early childhood development.Washington DC: National Academy Press.
42.
SimsM. (2003a). Are we asking the right question when we ask is child care bad for children?Australian Journal of Early Childhood, 28(4), 34–39.
43.
SimsM. (2003b). Employment outcomes for children's services graduates. Australian Research into Early Childhood Education, 10(2), 97–107.
44.
SimsM. (2007). The determinants of quality care: Review and research report. In HillE., PocockB. & ElliotA. (Eds.), Kids Count: Better early education and care in Australia (pp. 220–241). Sydney: University of Sydney Press.
45.
SimsM., GuilfoyleA., & ParryT. (2005). What cortisol levels tell us about quality in childcare centres. Australian Journal of Early Childhood, 30(2), 29–39.
46.
SimsM., GuilfoyleA., & ParryT. (2006a). Child care for infants and toddlers: Where in the world are we going?The First Years – Nga Tau Tuatahi – New Zealand Journal of Infant and Toddler Education, 8(1), 12–19.
47.
SimsM., GuilfoyleA., & ParryT. (2006b). Children's cortisol levels and quality of child care provision. Child Care, Health and Development, 32(4), 452–466.
48.
StrathearnL., LiJ., FonagyP., & MontagueP. R. (2008). What's in a smile? Maternal brain responses to infant facial cues. Pediatrics, 122, 40–51.
49.
SwainJ., LorberbaumJ., KoseS., & StrathearnL. (2007). Brain basis of early parent-infant interactions: psychology, physiology, and in vivo functional neuroimaging studies. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 48(3/4), 262–287.
50.
ThurerS. (1994). The myths of motherhood: How culture reinvents the good mother.Boston: Houghton Muffin.
51.
van BakelH., & Riksen-WalravenJ. (2004). Stress reactivity in 15-month-old infants: Links with temperament, cognitive competence and attachment security. Developmental Psychobiology, 44, 157–167.
52.
VandellD. (2001). Early child care and children's development prior to school entry. NICHD Early Child Care Research Network. Paper presented at the Biennial Meeting, Tampa, FL.
53.
WatamuraS., DonzellaB., KertesD., & GunnarM. (2004). Developmental changes in baseline cortisol activity in early childhood: relations with napping and effortful control. Developmental Psychobiology, 45(3), 125–133.
54.
YashminJ., KartenA., & CameronH. (2005). Stress in early life inhibits neurogensis in adulthood. Trends in Neurosciences, 28(4), 171–172.
