Ricoeur, Identity and Early Childhood

Sandy Farquhar brings a fresh, intense and challenging lens to New Zealand's early childhood pedagogy and policy: that of philosophy. As the paradigm of early childhood shifts even further from its developmental roots where it emerged, this book will become an important tool towards engaging the profession in such a mind change. -- Helen May, Dean University of Otago College of Education
French philosopher Paul Ricoeur's theory of "narrative identity," by which individuals come to know and guide themselves through storytelling, is used by Farquhar (Univ. of Auckland, New Zealand) to frame a critique of early childhood education in Aotearoa (Maöri) New Zealand. As in other Western societies, education currently is dominated by market considerations, neoliberal rationality, and individual responsibility, to the detriment of social ethics and participation. From her analysis, both of Ricoeur and the Maöri, Farquhar concludes in the final chapter, "An 'Other' Narrative," that "recognizing difference" and "creativity as an ethical paradigm" have promise for a better early childhood education. The analysis is presented in five chapters that explain Ricoeur's narrative theories and four chapters that outline the ruling, and Farquhar's alternative, ideas of identity and subjectivity in early childhood education. The editor of the series in which the book is published thinks it can be read profitably by "all early childhood educators, indeed teachers at all levels," and Farquhar herself acknowledges that though the focus is on Aotearoa New Zealand, "it is set within a global political context." Summing Up: Recommended. * CHOICE *