Half of it's Out the Window - Exploring Tensions, Hierarchies and Positionalities Amidst the Changing Knowledge Base of Early Childhood Teacher Education Discourses

Oct 15, 2026

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Early childhood education is shaped by continual change in Australia, including updates to national quality and curriculum frameworks from 2009 and evolving qualification requirements. In Victoria, parallel framework introduction added further complexity for long day care educators. Using a qualitative study and Foucauldian Discourse Analysis, the paper examines how teacher education discourses shape subject positions, discursive practices, and reform engagement. Findings highlight how privileged content knowledge and discourse diversity sustain hierarchies and tensions, and recommendations support accommodating educators' positionalities.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages18

Reading Time45 min

AccessFree to download

Abstract

Keywords

Introduction

Early childhood education and care under reform

Shifting content knowledge and theoretical diversity

Teacher education discourses in Victoria

Table 1: Key reforms and events

'Half of it's Out the Window': Exploring Tensions, Hierarchies and Positionalities Amidst the Changing Knowledge Base of Early Childhood Teacher Education Discourses Lauren C Armstrong 1 University of Tasmania Abstract: Early childhood education is foregrounded in change. In Australia, this has encompassed the introduction, review and updates of national quality and curriculum frameworks from 2009, and changes to qualification requirements. Within the state of Victoria, further impacts have occurred due to the simultaneous introduction of a parallel curriculum framework. This paper draws on a qualitative study to examine how diverse teacher education discourses available to Victorian long day care educators have shaped their subject positions, discursive practices and reform engagement. Utilising Foucault’s concepts of discourse, knowledge and power, and Foucauldian Discourse Analysis [FDA], findings offer insight into how diverse teacher education discourses and privileged content knowledge influence how educators engage in reform and the changing knowledge base of the field. Recommendations are put forward for consideration to better accommodate the diverse positionalities occupied by educators and ease the enduring hierarchies and tensions within the early childhood field. Keywords: Foucauldian Discourse Analysis [FDA], early childhood education, long daycare, privileged content knowledge, reform engagement, teacher education Introduction Early childhood education and care [ECEC] has been foregrounded by change since its inception. In Australia, its historical evolution has encompassed social, economic and political influences underpinned by the growing professionalisation ofECEC, changing familial and societal needs and government agendas (Brennan, 1998; Press, 2015) . These changes have led to numerous reforms impacting the professional practice of early childhood professionals [ECPs] – a term used here to represent teachers, educators and co-educators within ECEC. Reforms introduced in Australia from 2009 (see Table 1) initiated a shift in theoretical and pedagogical direction, propelling a change in dominant content knowledge guiding the field. Although not exhaustive, Table 1 exemplifies the swift progression of key reforms and events influencing Australian ECEC. These reforms included the introduction (and later amendments) of quality and curriculum frameworks and changes to national 1 Lauren Armstrong is a lecturer in early childhood education within the School of Education, University of Tasmania. Her research interests involve early childhood policy development, educational change and reform, teacher education and professional learning, and how these factors impact early childhood professionals in the field. Corresponding author details: [lauren.armstrong@utas.edu.au ORCID:](lauren.armstrong@utas.edu.au ORCID:)[ ](lauren.armstrong@utas.edu.au ORCID:)[0000-0002-1166-3681](0000-0002-1166-3681). regulations, paralleled with reforms introduced simultaneously within the state of Victoria, creating increased complexities for Victorian-based ECPs. Previously, developmental psychology and Developmentally Appropriate Practice [DAP] shaped the dominant content knowledge (Copple & Bredekamp, 2009 ; McArdle, 2007)–particularly in the state of Victoria where the ECEC field was historically grounded in health and maturational childhood development (Department of Education, Employment & Workplace Relations [DEEWR], 2011a; Scantlebury Brown, 1966) . However, the field has since embraced a more ‘eclectic mix of theoretical perspectives’ (Sumsion et al., 2009, p.10) embedded across the Australian ECEC frameworks. For example, the Early Years Learning Framework [EYLF] accentuated how ‘drawing on a range of perspectives and theories can challenge traditional ways of seeing children, teaching and learning’ (DEEWR, 2009, p.12, emphasis added). These perspectives encompassed developmental, sociocultural,

FAQs

What changes in Australia influenced early childhood education from 2009 onward?

National quality and curriculum frameworks were introduced, reviewed, and updated, alongside changes to qualification requirements for early childhood professionals.

How did Victoria’s policy environment intensify the reform impact?

Victoria introduced a parallel curriculum framework at the same time as national reforms, creating additional complexities for Victorian educators.

What does the study examine using qualitative methods?

It investigates how teacher education discourses shaped educators’ subject positions, discursive practices, and their engagement with reform, focusing on the changing knowledge base.

Oct 15, 2026

Upload by Kurz