A Politics of Imperceptibilities, Possibilities and Early Childhood Practice. (December 2014)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Cumming, Tamara; Sumsion, Jennifer
• Is Part Of: Contemporary issues in early childhood. Volume 15:Number 4(2014)
• Page Start: 368
• Page End: 377
• Publication Date: 2014-12
• Subjects: Child development -- Periodicals; Early childhood education -- Periodicals; Children -- Periodicals; Social work with children -- Periodicals; 305.231
• DOI: 10.2304/ciec.2014.15.4.368
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1463-9491

Abstract

A growing body of research suggests that a range of 'hidden' or 'less tangible' aspects of early childhood practice play an important part in early childhood practice. The purpose of this article is to contribute to this existing research literature by identifying some of the complex ways that less tangible aspects work . To do this, the authors focus on a data fragment describing ways that conceptualisations of 'secret' are at work in one educator's practice. To give readings of this data fragment, the authors use a strategy of 'plugging in' everyday and theoretical understandings of 'the secret', and, a popular culture text. The authors also use post-structural understandings of 'being' and 'language', and additional illustrative data fragments to illuminate these complex aspects of practice at work. The article concludes by considering some implications and cautions of the politics of possibility that the readings of imperceptibility and early childhood practice have opened. Participant: It almost is like a secret language of its own. Researcher: What is? P: Being an early childhood educator: [1] we've got all the - we all know that you - I don't have to say to Mary Jane, 'Go and stand over there because you need your back against the wall because you need to look at all the children' … We automatically know that . We speak about pedagogy and speak about all these words that - these now little secret words . Or we bend down to look at the children so the children can look at us in our faces. It's almost like this little secret movement we've got going on. (Data fragment from an interview with an early childhood educator) Is the secret in the content or in the form? And the answer is already apparent: neither. (Deleuze & Guattari, 1987, p. 289)