Supporting the inclusion of low-income families in early childhood education: an exploration of approaches through a social justice lens

ABSTRACT

It is well established that families facing financial adversity have low enrolment rates in early childhood education and care services. This paper reports on a study that utilised Nancy Fraser's theorising of social justice to analyse the approaches and practices of five centres in Australia with a reputation for doing inclusion well. Findings showed that five-fold interconnected ‘E’ strategies were utilised in the participating centres – Equity focus; Equip for inclusion; Entice participation; Enable access; and Engage families – and that these strategies embraced both transformative and affirmative approaches to social injustice. In the context of low-income families, inclusion as a social justice construct and practice is shown to be distinct from enrolment and attendance in ECEC services, requiring purposeful and sustained practices that in the absence of transformative inclusive government policy, is likely to continue to be the exception rather than the norm in mainstream services.

KEYWORDS:

• Early childhood education
• inclusion
• low-income families
• social justice
• Nancy Fraser

Acknowledgements

This work was supported by funding from the University of Sydney's Faculty of Education and Social Work's Research Program grant. We acknowledge the invaluable research assistance undertaken by Suzanne Egan and thank all participants for their contribution to this research. We also acknowledge the very constructive feedback received from a reviewer of this paper.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by funding from the Faculty of Education and Social Work University of Sydney grant.

Notes on contributors

Marianne Fenech

Marianne Fenech is Associate Professor (Early Childhood Education) at the University of Sydney. Her teaching and research concern quality, inclusive and equitable systems of early childhood education, with a specific focus on critical and poststructuralist analyses of early childhood education and child care policy.

Jennifer Skattebol

Jennifer Skattebol is a senior research fellow at the Social Policy Research Centre. Her research seeks family and children's perspectives on everyday life in the context of the communities where they offer and receive care. This body of work seeks to challenge a deficit approach to people who live in economically adverse or difficult circumstances and often undercuts their capacities and capabilities. She has extensive experience of undertaking research with people who have reason to be wary of authorities and protective about their own wellbeing and safety. Her work has been broadly disseminated to policy makers in government departments and NGOs who focus on work with families, children and young people.