From balance to blasphemy: shifting metaphors for researching early childhood education

McArdle, Felicity; McWilliam, Erica

doi:10.1080/09518390500082376

Cited by 21 publications

(14 citation statements)

References 12 publications

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“…A longitudinal study, tracking graduates through their first years of teaching, would provide valuable information to arts educators and teacher researchers. Like any new model or theory, the students of Unit 1 have been exposed to an approach that can work for better and worse (McArdle and McWilliam 2005). As a model for future teacher preparation courses, the goal is for students to learn about the discipline, and the value and power of art.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In response to this data and to other issues which arose, later iterations of Unit 1 limited their choice of project to a self portrait. The insistence on the Week Nine sharing proved a driver for some students to produce a quality product-insisting that both process and product are important (McArdle and McWilliam 2005). In later iterations, the connection between the formal goals of Unit 1 and curriculum design were made more explicit to the students.…”

Section: Findings and Discussionmentioning

confidence: 97%

“…Combined, these discourses result in a 'regime of truth' (Foucault and Gordon 1980) that makes teachers reluctant to teach. At the same time, teachers have 'rules for breaking the rules' and work to 'teach without teaching' (McArdle and McWilliam 2005). So the mantras of self-expression, freedom and creativity sit alongside classroom walls decorated with twenty-five identical templates-'bunnybum art'.…”

Section: Module Threementioning

confidence: 99%

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New maps of learning for quality art education: what pre-service teachers should learn and be able to do

McArdle

2012

Aust. Educ. Res.

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It would be a rare thing to visit an early years setting or classroom in Australia that does not display examples of young children's artworks. This practice serves to give schools a particular 'look', but is no guarantee of quality art education. The Australian National Review of Visual Arts Education (http://www.australia council.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0003/36372/NRVE_Final_Report.pdf, 2009) has called for changes to visual art education in schools. The planned new National Curriculum includes the arts (music, dance, drama, media and visual arts) as 1 of the 5 learning areas. Research shows that it is the classroom teacher that makes the difference, and teacher education has a large part to play in reforms to art education. This paper provides an account of one foundation unit of study (Unit 1) for first year university students enrolled in a 4-year Bachelor degree program who are preparing to teach in the early years (0-8 years). To prepare pre-service teachers to meet the needs of children in the twenty-first century, Unit 1 blends old and new ways of seeing art, child and pedagogy. Claims for the effectiveness of this model are supported with evidence-based research, conducted over the 6 years of iterations and ongoing development of Unit 1.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Findings and Discussionmentioning

confidence: 97%

Section: Module Threementioning

confidence: 99%

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New maps of learning for quality art education: what pre-service teachers should learn and be able to do

McArdle

2012

Aust. Educ. Res.

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“…Further forensic examination makes visible a range of other important discourses (McArdle and McWilliam, 2005; Walkerdine, 1990) that might not be as dominant or powerful but are nevertheless in play. The executive summary does include a bulleted list that outlines how the challenges that face early childhood education would be addressed.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Governing child care in neoliberal times: Discursive constructions of children as economic units and early childhood educators as investment brokers

Gibson

McArdle

Hatcher

2015

Global Studies of Childhood

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At any given time in the field of early childhood, there are discourses at play, producing images of children, and these ways of seeing children might be competing, colliding and/or complementing each other. It is fairly widely accepted that in many countries there are versions of dominant discourses that shape and are shaped by current practices in the field of early childhood. These include (1) romantic notions of children running free and connecting with nature and (2) the 'Bart Simpson' version of the naughty, cute or savage child, untamed and in need of civilising. These are far from being the only two discursive constructions of children present in current policies and practices. If early childhood professionals are to be active in shaping and implementing policies that affect their work and workforce, it is important that they are aware of the forces at play. In this article, we point to another powerful discourse at play in the Australian context of early childhood education, the image of children as economic units: investments in the future. We show how a 'moment of arising' in contemporary policy contexts, dominated by neoliberal principles of reform and competition, has charged early childhood educators in Australia with the duties of a 'broker', ensuring that young children are worth the investment. In this article, we begin with (1) a key policy document in early childhood education in Australia and examine the discursive affordances which shape the document. Next, (2) we pinpoint the shifts in how the work of child care is perceived by interrogating this key policy document through a methodology of Downloaded from Gibson et al. 323discursive analysis. We then turn attention (3) to the work of this policy document along with other discourses which directly affect images of children and the shaping role these have on the work of educators. We conclude with (4) a consideration of how the work of early childhood professionals has come to be shaped by this economic discourse, and how they are being required to both work within the policy imperatives and likely to resist this new demand of them.

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“…This is exemplified in the increasing desire of researchers to define means of guidance for conducting and judging qualitative, quantitative and mixed method research (May & Pope, 2000). ‘Quality’ is now becoming a much debated issue in both health (Blaxter, 1996; May & Pope, 2000; Murphy, Dingwall, Greatbatch, Parker & Watson, 1998; Olsen, Voigt, Begg & Weiss, 2002) and education (Evans & Benefield, 2001; Feuer et al., 2002; Gorard & Taylor, 2004; McCardle & McWilliam, 2005; Oancea, 2005) with solutions to problems posed not always quite so evidently in terms of application to therapy or classroom contexts.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Intervention for children with language impairments: a model of evidence‐based outcome research

Parkinson

Humphrey

2008

Research in Spec Educ Needs

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Over the past 30 years successive governments in the UK have endeavoured to make the statutory framework suitable for children with special educational needs (SEN). More recently, efforts have been made to personalise children's learning, making educational experience more innovative and responsive to the diversity of needs in schools. A drive is emerging in health and education to develop and evaluate intervention strategies for children with language impairments (LIs), which is both methodologically challenging and rewarding. The current review demonstrates difficulties encountered with using evidence-based (evidence-related) outcome research involving children with LIs. Many studies have inherent methodological problems such as small sample sizes, ill-matched groups and designs that are difficult to replicate or compare. Such approaches are unlikely to yield significant results, or if they do, it is difficult to devise clear guidance regarding choice of intervention strategies. In the light of these difficulties, theoretical, methodological and practical issues are discussed herein and a model is proposed to assist in enabling interventions to be identified, evaluated in a robust manner, and the results shared with educators. We suggest that the use of a process-driven model ensures a more rigorous approach when undertaking large-scale systematic, evidence-based research into the effective approaches to teaching children not only with LIs but across the field of special needs education. 'Provision for children with speech and language (SL) needs in England and Wales: facilitating communication between education and health services: the parent perspective.

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From balance to blasphemy: shifting metaphors for researching early childhood education

Cited by 21 publications

References 12 publications

New maps of learning for quality art education: what pre-service teachers should learn and be able to do

New maps of learning for quality art education: what pre-service teachers should learn and be able to do

Governing child care in neoliberal times: Discursive constructions of children as economic units and early childhood educators as investment brokers

Intervention for children with language impairments: a model of evidence‐based outcome research

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