Time and Temporality in Early Childhood Education and Care Work

Figures & data

Table 1. Discursively produced frames of ECEC work and their inscriptions of temporality.

Frames of time and temporality in ECEC work	Notions of time and temporality	Examples of utterances
Time management “running everyday life”	Focus is on time elapsing, and efforts to create and maintain time management structures. Time practices emphasize the linear, measurable notion of time →Recurrence, predictability	Running everyday life, coping, schedule, structure, prioritization, counting, routines
Educational objectives “creating foundations for the future”	Focus is on children’s development and learning. Time practices juggle the linearly-oriented aims of education and a relational temporality engaged in daily activities.	Broad plans, laying the foundations, future skills, prevention, evaluation
Moments of encounter “genuine presence”	Focus is on relational time, which is based on situational interactions between a child and practitioner. In these shared moments of togetherness, the relational temporality is modified by an individual practitioner.	Genuine presence, easy going, time to hear and see, doing things in peace, everyday presence, look the child in the eye

Figure 1. Frames of time and temporality and their mutual relationship and impact on the everyday practices of ECEC work.

Multiple nested rectangles describing the relationship between frames of time and temporality.