Early childhood teacher cultural Otherness and belonging

Abstract

Early childhood education settings are arguably places of community, togetherness and belonging. But what if they are not? What if individuals’ senses of identity, place or reality clash, do not fit or, worse, repel or offend? This article picks up on the largely under-researched area of teachers’ belonging and sense of cultural identity in early childhood settings. It argues for the critical importance of elevating and paying attention to teachers’ subject formation and identity. Drawing on some of the concerns and common conceptions of cultural Otherness in early childhood education, the article uses Kristeva’s foreigner lens and her theory on the subject in process to argue that teachers’ sense of belonging, of their own cultural identity and place, in their teaching team and in their early childhood setting is critical for an overall sense of openness and belonging throughout the setting. Teachers are commonly called on to nurture children’s and their families’ cultural identities. The sense of belonging intended through such practices depends on teacher attitudes and orientations to cultural Otherness that go beyond the surface – that allow for the difficult, complicated, unpredictable processes of becoming part of a centre community. This article offers a challenge to rethink teacher Otherness, for the (re-)elevation of their own sense of belonging in early childhood settings and teaching teams.

I Want to Participate—Communities of Practice in Foraging and Gardening Projects as a Contribution to Social and Cultural Sustainability in Early Childhood Education

“…However, in the ECE setting, the CoP should evolve to include the children to a greater extent, to involve them as part of the real adult world instead of being situated in a childsized artificial play world [54]. This is particularly important in creating a sense of cultural belonging and for meaningful and transformative experiences that may empower the children to become agents of change [11,55].…”

Editorial: The #YearOfWelcome: Shifting attitudes, policy and practice in education?

“…They intricately affect the nature, effect and affect of the welcome, and the ongoing acceptance, respect and sensitivity shown towards migrants and refugees in their new early childhood settings and local communities. Teacher and educator attitudes and orientations are also complex, however, and dependent on many factors, beginning with their own experiences of histories and realities (Arndt, 2018). At the same time, difference itself is not straightforward or simple – Kristeva (1991) reminds us of this – when strangeness ruptures what is seen as ‘normal’, and what is not.…”

Diverse perspectives of migrant student teachers in early childhood education

“…However, to be able to do this one needs to have an open attitude towards diversity and look beyond the surface. As Arndt (2018) suggests there is a need to 'support an ongoing sense of enquiry and curiosity, paying attention to early childhood teachers' meaning making of their cultural realities, their transformations. .…”

“…One of the implications of this study is that there is a need to include and hear the voices of all team members in order to improve teaching and learning in a diverse world. Arndt (2018) raises the issue of early childhood teachers' identity and their cultural otherness and encourages research and reflection on the significant issue of cultural identity and belonging in their teaching teams. The author emphasises the need to conceptualise understandings of teacher identity that look beyond universalising attitudes towards otherness.…”