1,436
Views
3
CrossRef citations to date
0
Altmetric
Articles

Pedagogy-related tensions in flexibly scheduled early childhood education and care

ORCID Icon, ORCID Icon, &
Pages 645-660 | Received 05 Mar 2019, Accepted 01 Mar 2020, Published online: 12 Jun 2020
 

ABSTRACT

In flexibly scheduled early childhood education and care (ECEC), the timing of care depends on parents’ non-standard working hours. Multiple individual schedules and care times in a child group may cause irregularity in a child’s daily structures, and a child may miss a standard hour’s activities that are led by teachers with a pedagogical education. In this context, the significance and definition of pedagogy is vague and tensional.

This study aimed at disclosing discursive tensions related to pedagogy in flexibly scheduled ECEC constructed in interviews by Finnish teachers and childcare nurses (n = 31). The analysis of the interview data followed the principles of discursive psychology. Consequently, three discursive tensions related to pedagogy were found: (1) children’s right to learn vs. their need for care, (2) educators’ educational background vs. personal strengths as a standpoint for pedagogical work and (3) pedagogy as standardised vs. meeting children’s individual needs.

As an implication, it appears problematic if we consider education and care as opposites. Instead, they should be viewed from a holistic pedagogical perspective, as each child has the right to high-quality pedagogy despite the timing of care. Moreover, children’s individuality should be at the core of planning pedagogical activities.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Academy of Finland: [grant number 251410].

Log in via your institution

Log in to Taylor & Francis Online

PDF download + Online access

  • 48 hours access to article PDF & online version
  • Article PDF can be downloaded
  • Article PDF can be printed
USD 53.00 Add to cart

Issue Purchase

  • 30 days online access to complete issue
  • Article PDFs can be downloaded
  • Article PDFs can be printed
USD 548.00 Add to cart

* Local tax will be added as applicable

Related Research

People also read lists articles that other readers of this article have read.

Recommended articles lists articles that we recommend and is powered by our AI driven recommendation engine.

Cited by lists all citing articles based on Crossref citations.
Articles with the Crossref icon will open in a new tab.