NotesFAQContact Us
Collection
Advanced
Search Tips
50 Years of ERIC
50 Years of ERIC
The Education Resources Information Center (ERIC) is celebrating its 50th Birthday! First opened on May 15th, 1964 ERIC continues the long tradition of ongoing innovation and enhancement.

Learn more about the history of ERIC here. PDF icon

Back to results
Peer reviewed Peer reviewed
Direct linkDirect link
ERIC Number: EJ1037032
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2014-Aug
Pages: 16
Abstractor: As Provided
Reference Count: 81
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0020-7187
Infants, Family Day Care and the Politics of Belonging
Stratigos, Tina; Bradley, Ben; Sumsion, Jennifer
International Journal of Early Childhood, v46 n2 p171-186 Aug 2014
Belonging has long been conceptualised as a fundamental human need, essential for the good health of individuals and communities. In relation to young children, belonging may be linked to their developing sense of identity, as well as the way they perceive and respond to others. Belonging is emerging as an important aspect of contemporary early childhood education and care (ECEC) curriculum such as "Te Whariki" from New Zealand and "Belonging, Being and Becoming: The Early Years Learning Framework for Australia" (EYLF). There is the potential for belonging to become a romanticised, simplistic and taken for granted notion within ECEC. Following Sumsion and Wong's ("Contemp Issues Early Child" 12:28-45, 2011) call for belonging to be taken up in critical and reflective ways in ECEC, and Peers and Fleer's ("Educ Philos Theory", doi:10.1080/00131857.2013.781495, 2013) concerns regarding the inadequacy of everyday understandings of belonging to the full realisation of the intent of the EYLF, this paper is an attempt to begin problematizing the notion of belonging in early childhood, particularly in relation to infants in family day care (FDC). Conceptualisations of belonging across disciplines are discussed, with particular attention to the notions of a "sense of belonging" and the "politics of belonging". Particular aspects of FDC that may be important to consider in relation to belonging are drawn out, namely its purported home- and family-like nature. Finally, in relation to infants, we argue that any discussion of infants' belonging in ECEC must include the peer group and the active role that infants may play in the politics of belonging.
Springer. 233 Spring Street, New York, NY 10013. Tel: 800-777-4643; Tel: 212-460-1500; Fax: 212-348-4505; e-mail: service-ny@springer.com; Web site: http://www.springerlink.com
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Early Childhood Education; Preschool Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers: New Zealand; Australia