Peer-reviewed article
Complexifying quality in early childhood contexts through a theory of quality ecologies
Elise Hunkin, Susan Grieshaber ·
Summary
Written by AI, not yet AICS's view · claude-sonnet-5-5This theoretical paper argues for developing a theory of quality ecologies in early childhood education and care. It says that dominant ideas of quality are politicised and positivist, and it calls for theoretical experimentation and diversification. The authors review how ecologies theory has been used in education research and describe their early thinking on applying it to critical theories of quality. They end by outlining a research program for this theory.
Key points
- Dominant contemporary interpretations of quality in early childhood are described as politicised and positivist.
- The authors argue for theoretical experimentation and diversification in how quality is understood.
- Ecologies theory has existing applications in education research that offer opportunities for thinking about quality.
- The paper presents initial thoughts on a theory of quality ecologies and a related research program.
Limitations
The abstract describes a conceptual proposal and does not report empirical data, outcomes for children, or a specific country or setting. It cannot tell us whether the proposed theory works in practice.
Abstract
This paper makes a case for developing a theory of quality ecologies in early childhood education and care, and presents our initial thoughts around how that might be done, including how it might create a space for further thinking, research and discussion. First, the politicised, positivist nature of dominant contemporary interpretations of quality is discussed, including our case for theoretical experimentation and diversification. Then, we discuss existing applications of ecologies theory in education research and the opportunities it presents, followed by our thinking so far around how it can be applied to critical theorisations of quality ecologies. Last, we outline our research program and what we envisage can be accomplished by a theory of quality ecologies in early childhood education.