The Decommodification of Early Childhood Education and Care

‘This book’s vignettes of grassroots initiatives… will inspire early childhood education activists and observers alike’

Eva Lloyd, Director of The International Centre for the Study of the Mixed Economy of Childcare and visiting Professor at the University College London

‘This book deftly reveals and challenges the encroachment of neoliberalism upon early childhood education.’

Frances Press, Professor of Early Childhood and Education Policy, Manchester Metropolitan University

This book’s vignettes of grassroots initiatives embodying potentially sustainable and scalable alternatives to the commodification, privatisation and marketisation of early childhood education and care will inspire early childhood education activists and observers alike. Set within a thoughtful counter-hegemonic narrative, these examples from across several continents should energize those seeking to effect system change.

Eva Lloyd, Professor of Early Childhood at the University of East London and Director of UEL's International Centre for the Study of the Mixed Economy of Childcare

This book deftly reveals and challenges the encroachment of neoliberalism upon early childhood education. For several decades, in many parts of the world, neoliberalism has infused early childhood education policy. And policy in turn, has (attempted to) permeate how we construct ourselves as educators, academics and researchers, how we position children and families, and the aspirations we seek from early childhood education itself. Nevertheless, this is an optimistic book, reminding us that neoliberalism is not, nor ever has been, an inevitable political condition. There are many points of resistance. Throughout the world, early childhood educators, researchers and providers envisage their work differently, countering the narrative that positions early childhood education as a commodity, parents as consumers, and children as human capital. This book shares vignettes of these acts of resistance, reminding us of our own agency, our capacities to be catalysts for change. Our resistances operate on many levels and are apparent in many different ways: in our conversations, the values we reinforce or question, our interactions and intentions, the way we research. Ultimately, as this book asserts, we must advocate for the right of all children to an early childhood education that recognises them as citizens in the here and now.

Frances Press, Professor of Early Childhood and Education Policy, Manchester Metropolitan University