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... (see Starting Strong 11, 2006). From a children's rights stance, nation states must resist the "schoolification" of ECEC, where programmes place an inordinate focus upon cognitive development, and the acquisition of knowledge and skills, and where children spend much of their time indoors, learning letters and numbers in preparation for primary school (Pantazis andPotsi, 2012, Ring, Mhic Mhathúna, Moloney, et al. 2015), rather than the development of social skills, independence, curiosity, and child-agency (NCCA, 2009;PACEY, 2013). ...
... (see Starting Strong 11, 2006). From a children's rights stance, nation states must resist the "schoolification" of ECEC, where programmes place an inordinate focus upon cognitive development, and the acquisition of knowledge and skills, and where children spend much of their time indoors, learning letters and numbers in preparation for primary school (Pantazis andPotsi, 2012, Ring, Mhic Mhathúna, Moloney, et al. 2015), rather than the development of social skills, independence, curiosity, and child-agency (NCCA, 2009;PACEY, 2013). ...
... (see Starting Strong 11, 2006). From a children's rights stance, nation states must resist the "schoolification" of ECEC, where programmes place an inordinate focus upon cognitive development, and the acquisition of knowledge and skills, and where children spend much of their time indoors, learning letters and numbers in preparation for primary school (Pantazis andPotsi, 2012, Ring, Mhic Mhathúna, Moloney, et al. 2015), rather than the development of social skills, independence, curiosity, and child-agency (NCCA, 2009;PACEY, 2013). ...
... This, in turn, creates an expectation that children in pre-primary education settings should be ready to engage in formal academic activities on entry to primary school. Ultimately, therefore, this process results in the 'schoolification' of pre-primary education, where early childhood programmes are underpinned by primary school academic activities and children spend much of their time indoors, learning their letters and numbers in preparation for primary school (OECD, 2006;Moloney, 2011;Pantazis and Potsi, 2012). Indeed, in the Irish context, specific preprimary education settings in the research were compared to a 'scaled-down' version of school (Moloney, 2011). ...
High quality early years’ education is associated with providing a child-centred curriculum based on a knowledge of how young children learn. The global ‘schoolification epidemic’ has led to an increasing focus on prescribed curricula and presents as a serious threat to the quality of children's early years’ experiences. Findings from research in Ireland confirm this shift towards ‘schoolification’ and the association of school readiness with a child's age and the acquisition of academic skills. Revisiting Dewey's writings provides a much needed impetus for a return to child-centredness and a re-conceptualisation of early years’ education as a process of forming fundamental dispositions.
... This, in turn, creates an expectation that children in pre-primary education settings should be ready to engage in formal academic activities on entry to primary school. Ultimately, therefore, this process results in the 'schoolification' of pre-primary education, where early childhood programmes are underpinned by primary school academic activities and children spend much of their time indoors, learning their letters and numbers in preparation for primary school (OECD, 2006;Moloney, 2011;Pantazis and Potsi, 2012). Indeed, in the Irish context, specific preprimary education settings in the research were compared to a 'scaled-down' version of school (Moloney, 2011). ...
... Well-known intervention studies with cost-benefit analyses such as the Chicago child-parent centres (Reynolds, 1997), the High Scope Perry Preschool Program (Schweinhart and Weikart, 1997) and the Carolina Abecedarian Project (Campbell et al, 2002) stress the long-term effects of preschool programmes on children's cognitive and social development, especially for those living in poverty or at risk of it. 2 For more details on ECE curricular approaches and schoolification, see Bernstein, 1996;OECD, 2006;Bertrand, 2007;Moore, 2008;McLachlan et al, 2010;Potsi, 2014;Potsi et al, 2016. 3 Due to its interdisciplinary nature, the capability approach is the subject of a growing, voluminous literature, as it serves quite different epistemological goals and spans a wide range of traditional academic disciplines (see Andresen et al, 2006Andresen et al, , 2008Alkire, 2003Alkire, , 2005Alkire, , 2007Clark, 2005Clark, , 2006DiTommaso, 2006;Gasper, 2004;Kuklys and Robeyns, 2004;Osmani, 2000;Papadopoulos and Tsakloglou, 2005;Robeyns, 2000Robeyns, , 2003Robeyns, , 2005Robeyns, , 2006Saito, 2003). ...
Introduction
This chapter endeavours to explore the potential of a capabilitypromoting policy in early childhood education (ECE). More specifically, reference to Martha Nussbaum's list of basic human capabilities, developed as a relatively definite standard of minimal justice, and an adequate frame for capability-promoting policy in Early Childhood Education (ECE) and especially in the curriculum development will be considered (Richardson, 2015). These central capabilities, defined as the minimum human entitlement, are deeply rooted in the normative principles that govern ECE, and provide a general framework for policymaking and policy evaluation.
The significance of ECE is generally accepted and many countries are exploring the educational needs of the young with a special focus on those who are economically and socially disadvantaged (OECD, 2006). ECE offers a chance for the establishment and support of the kind of habitus that supports the long-term means of fulfilling one's potential. Indeed, ECE can improve children's long-term life chances and their long- and medium-term outcomes (see, for example, Wright et al, 2000; Magnuson et al, 2004; Duncan et al, 2012). Thus, another aspect is that educational systems can also reproduce social inequalities. As Wiborg and Hansen show (2009), even in relatively wealthy and welfare-rich countries such as Norway, growing up in a poor household means you are more likely to be poor as an adult. This type of economic disadvantage is persistent and difficult to address. Added to this, confounding factors come into play such as the association between being a migrant child, living in a poor neighbourhood and being unlikely to attend an ECE institution, and a lower likelihood that a high-quality ECE institution will be available in the local community. Furthermore, factors that contribute to disadvantage tend to compound and cluster (Bask, 2011), resulting in cumulative disadvantage over time.
Universal access to ECE for all children is advocated as a way to reconcile work and family life and to promote the socioeconomic integration of vulnerable groups in society. The United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund (UNICEF) concludes that this increasing government interest in early childhood services occurs because they offer an apparent opportunity to break into the cycle by which disadvantage tends to reproduce itself, and because no nation today can afford to ignore opportunities for maximising investments in education in a competitive economic environment increasingly based on knowledge, flexibility, and lifelong learning skills (Dahlberg and Moss, 2005).
... Well-known intervention studies with cost-benefit analyses such as the Chicago child-parent centres (Reynolds, 1997), the High Scope Perry Preschool Program (Schweinhart and Weikart, 1997) and the Carolina Abecedarian Project (Campbell et al, 2002) stress the long-term effects of preschool programmes on children's cognitive and social development, especially for those living in poverty or at risk of it. 2 For more details on ECE curricular approaches and schoolification, see Bernstein, 1996;OECD, 2006;Bertrand, 2007;Moore, 2008;McLachlan et al, 2010;Potsi, 2014;Potsi et al, 2016. 3 Due to its interdisciplinary nature, the capability approach is the subject of a growing, voluminous literature, as it serves quite different epistemological goals and spans a wide range of traditional academic disciplines (see Andresen et al, 2006Andresen et al, , 2008Alkire, 2003Alkire, , 2005Alkire, , 2007Clark, 2005Clark, , 2006DiTommaso, 2006;Gasper, 2004;Kuklys and Robeyns, 2004;Osmani, 2000;Papadopoulos and Tsakloglou, 2005;Robeyns, 2000Robeyns, , 2003Robeyns, , 2005Robeyns, , 2006Saito, 2003). ...
... Well-known intervention studies with cost-benefit analyses such as the Chicago child-parent centres (Reynolds, 1997), the High Scope Perry Preschool Program (Schweinhart and Weikart, 1997) and the Carolina Abecedarian Project (Campbell et al, 2002) stress the long-term effects of preschool programmes on children's cognitive and social development, especially for those living in poverty or at risk of it. 2 For more details on ECE curricular approaches and schoolification, see Bernstein, 1996;OECD, 2006;Bertrand, 2007;Moore, 2008;McLachlan et al, 2010;Potsi, 2014;Potsi et al, 2016. 3 Due to its interdisciplinary nature, the capability approach is the subject of a growing, voluminous literature, as it serves quite different epistemological goals and spans a wide range of traditional academic disciplines (see Andresen et al, 2006Andresen et al, , 2008Alkire, 2003Alkire, , 2005Alkire, , 2007Clark, 2005Clark, , 2006DiTommaso, 2006;Gasper, 2004;Kuklys and Robeyns, 2004;Osmani, 2000;Papadopoulos and Tsakloglou, 2005;Robeyns, 2000Robeyns, , 2003Robeyns, , 2005Robeyns, , 2006Saito, 2003). ...
This chapter examines the potential of the capability approach as a framework of normative aims for early childhood education (ECE) curricula. More specifically, it considers Martha Nussbaum's list of basic human capabilities, developed as a relatively definite standard of minimal justice and as the minimum entitlements a person should have, as an adequate frame for capability-promoting policy in ECE and especially in curriculum development. Nussbaum's basic human capabilities are deeply rooted in the normative principles that govern ECE and care and contrast with the reductionist and instrumental view of the ECE curriculum that prevails within contemporary policy frameworks. The chapter argues that a capability-promoting curriculum could help us better understand what is worth seeking for its own sake without lacking academic content.
... Well-known intervention studies with cost-benefit analyses such as the Chicago child-parent centres (Reynolds, 1997), the High Scope Perry Preschool Program (Schweinhart and Weikart, 1997) and the Carolina Abecedarian Project (Campbell et al, 2002) stress the long-term effects of preschool programmes on children's cognitive and social development, especially for those living in poverty or at risk of it. 2 For more details on ECE curricular approaches and schoolification, see Bernstein, 1996;OECD, 2006;Bertrand, 2007;Moore, 2008;McLachlan et al, 2010;Potsi, 2014;Potsi et al, 2016. 3 Due to its interdisciplinary nature, the capability approach is the subject of a growing, voluminous literature, as it serves quite different epistemological goals and spans a wide range of traditional academic disciplines (see Andresen et al, 2006Andresen et al, , 2008Alkire, 2003Alkire, , 2005Alkire, , 2007Clark, 2005Clark, , 2006DiTommaso, 2006;Gasper, 2004;Kuklys and Robeyns, 2004;Osmani, 2000;Papadopoulos and Tsakloglou, 2005;Robeyns, 2000Robeyns, , 2003Saito, 2003). ...
This chapter examines the role of agency within the capability approach in promoting sustainable development. Drawing on research carried out in Mali, it considers the importance of including psychological and collective domains in the measurement of agency and proposes the use of ‘local’ metrics of agency: dusu and ka da I yèrè la . After providing a background on the Mali case study, the chapter discusses agency in relation to power and gender in the study site. It also analyses the policy implications of the ‘leave no-one behind agenda’ for agency and multidimensional poverty and concludes by identifying areas for policy integration, such as creating context-specific policy formations where agency is central.
... Given the age cohort identified for assessment by the OECD, PLÉ is concerned about the potential expectation that young children should be engaging in formal academic activities within early years settings, prior to school entry. We believe that we must resist the "schoolification" of early childhood education where early childhood programmes are underpinned by primary school academic activities, and where children spend much of their time indoors, learning letters and numbers in preparation for primary school (OECD, 2006;Moloney, 2011;Pantazis andPotsi, 2012, Ring, Mhic Mhathúna, Moloney, Hayes et al, 2015), rather than the development of social skills, independence, curiosity and child-agency (NCCA, 2009;PACEY, 2013). ...
The OECD is initiating the International Early Learning Study (IELS), a cross-national assessment of early learning outcomes involving the testing of children between 4.5 to 5.5 years in 3-6 participating countries initially (OECD, IELS Tender, 2016, p.18). Rather than fast-forwarding children’s education (Palmer, 2009), this paper argues that it is time to put play back into early childhood education, and redirect attention towards competent systems. It further suggests that the OECD must revisit its original concern for quality, and move away from approaches that are poorly suited to the psychology and natural learning strategies of young children (OECD, 2006), and which pose a threat to the nature and period of early childhood into the future.
