Neuro-stuffed parenthood? Discursive constructions of good parenthood in relation to neuroDiscourse in Flemish social policy documents addressing parents: a case study

Abstract

Accounts focusing on the relation between conceptualisations of parenthood and neuroDiscourse are missing within educational philosophy. This lacuna forms the background of this paper, which reports on a case study on the level of social policy documents addressing parents of the Flemish governmental branch office Kind & Gezin (Child & Family). The case’s focus is a critical analysis of discursive constructions of parenthood, and the extent to which results of neuroscience, as they appear in the documents, exert a change in these discursive constructions of good parenthood. The study deploys critical metaphor analysis to explore the conceptualisations of parenthood that are metaphorically constructed, what these constructions convey about good parenthood, and how they relate to neuroDiscourse. The analysis, firstly, points at neuroDiscourse of parenthood being operational in the documents, but operating in a different manner than that described in the literature. Nevertheless, neuroDiscourse of parenthood exerts a narrowing effect on the way parenthood is conceptualised in parenthood Discourse. Secondly, the analysis exposes the assumption that parenthood advice is best grounded in scientific evidence, facilitating the further occurrence of parenting advice based on neuroscience. Thirdly, in relating Kind & Gezin’s mission of optimal preventive family support to neuroDiscourse of parenthood, the possibility of neuro-governance of parents arises.

Neuroparenting: the Myths and the Benefits. An Ethical Systematic Review

“…Leysen found many differences between Flemish and Anglo Saxon neuroscientific parental educational material. The Flemish tend to focus less on the first three years movement, present less evidence from severe neglect, and had less deterministic views [47]. Again it is not clear that criticism based on the practices in one country generalize to practices in other countries.…”

“…Neuroparenting advice is also criticized for its ideas on malleability; that life can be orchestrated and that children can become whatever they want to if only their brains are stimulated early and intensively [47]. The UNICEF brochure entitled 'Building a happy baby' [3] (emphasis by the authors) expresses this idea rather clearly, suggesting that raising a child is comparable to building a house.…”