Abstract
In our interconnected and interdependent world, national early childhood education and care (ECEC) policies can no longer be made or read independently from their global contexts. Policy statements often display a global awareness that construct notions about ‘the child’ as a ‘global citizen’, particular relations to others and certain prospects about the world. In this paper, we analyse the Australian Early Years Learning Framework: Belonging, Being and Becoming (EYLF) and associated documents to make explicit the particular child subjects, forms of belonging and prospects they produce. The multivocality and multiperspectivity of the EYLF enable parallel interpretations, which we utilise here and focus on two possible readings: first, an educational prospect that furthers neoliberal globalisation and modernist notions by fashioning ECEC as part of national and mostly economic projects, while the second reading identifies aspects of the EYLF that prefigure a new mode of learning that engages alternatively with our interdependent world through a ‘cosmopolitan ethics’ and ‘cosmopolitan solidarity’. Based upon our second reading, we utilise our ‘radical imagination’ to extend the cosmopolitan imaginary of the EYLF for pedagogical use.
Résumé
Dans notre monde interconnecté et interdépendant, les politiques nationales d’éducation et d’accueil de la petite enfance (EAPE) ne peuvent plus être conçues ni appréhendées sans tenir compte de leur contexte global. Les déclarations de politique font souvent montre d’une conscience globale qui construit certaines notions relatives à «l’enfant, citoyen du monde», certaines relations avec l’autre et certaines prospectives sur le monde. Dans cet article, nous analysons l’énoncé de politique australien Early Years Learning Framework: Belonging, Being and Becoming (EYLF) et d’autres documents associés afin de rendre explicites les types particulier de sujets, formes d’appartenance et prospectives de l’enfant que produisent ces textes. Le caractère multi vocal et pluri perspectif de l’EYLF permet des interprétations parallèles, ce dont nous profitons ici pour présenter deux lectures possibles. La première est une prospective éducationnelle qui met de l’avant des notions néolibérales globales et modernistes en concevant l’EAPE comme partie intégrante de projets nationaux, principalement économiques. La deuxième lecture identifie des aspects de l’EYLF qui préfigurent un nouveau mode d’apprentissage qui implique autrement notre monde interdépendant à travers une éthique et une solidarité «cosmopolites». Sur la base de cette deuxième lecture, nous aurons recours à notre «imagination radicale» pour élargir l’imaginaire cosmopolite de l’EYLF à des fins pédagogiques.
Resúmen
Las políticas nacionales de educación (inicial) y preescolar (ECE) ya no se pueden realizar o interpretar independientemente de su contexto global en nuestro mundo interrelacionado y altamente interdependiente. Dichas políticas suelen mostrar un conocimiento global que construye la noción del “niño” como un “ciudadano global”, las relaciones con los demás y sus perspectivas sobre el mundo. En este trabajo, analizamos el Marco Australiano de “Aprendizaje de Educación (inicial) y preescolar: perteneciendo, siendo y llegando a ser” (EYLF). Junto al Marco, revisamos igualmente, otros documentos relacionados con el mismo que hacen explícitas las singularidades del niño, formas de pertenencia y las perspectivas que producen. La multiplicidad de voces y perspectivas del Marco Australiano (EYLF) permite interpretaciones paralelas las cuales utilizaremos aquí mientras centraremos la atención en dos puntos: en primer lugar, la perspectiva educativa que promueve la globalización neoliberal y las nociones de concepción modernista que modela la educación (inicial) y preescolar como una parte de los planes nacionales y los proyectos económicos. La segunda lectura señala los otros aspectos del Marco Australiano (EYLF) que prefiguran una nueva modalidad de aprendizaje conectados alternativamente con nuestro mundo interdependiente a través de la “ética cosmopolita “y” solidaridad cosmopolita”. Basado en esta segunda lectura hacemos uso de nuestra ‘imaginación radical’ para ampliar el imaginario cosmopolita del Marco Australiano (EYLF) para su uso pedagógico.
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Millei, Z., Jones, A. The Australian Early Childhood Curriculum and a Cosmopolitan Imaginary. IJEC 46, 63–79 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13158-014-0100-2
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13158-014-0100-2