Dr Nathan Archer, who is a researcher on the Childcare during Covid team considers what activism in the early years sector means and what it can achieve in this piece for Early Years Educator.
In the current climate of pressing concerns, the early years sector continues to strive for a stronger voice. While lobbying often shouts the loudest, ‘quiet activism’ can be equally powerful.
Dr Nathan Archer
‘Do not get lost in a sea of despair. Be hopeful, be optimistic. Our struggle is not the struggle of a day, a week, a month, or a year, it is the struggle of a lifetime. Never, ever be afraid to make some noise and get in good trouble, necessary trouble.’ – John Lewis-A tweet from June 2018 (reported USA Today, July 18, 2020)
The past year has been a phenomenal period of upheaval both internationally and in the UK. Against the backdrop of a global pandemic, educators have grappled with unparalleled daily challenges on many levels. Alongside frequent shifts in government directives, longer term policy change continues apace, with imminent developments in curriculum and associated guidance, the proposed Reception Baseline, and an inadequate funding regime, to name a few.
However, the implementation of these changes has not been accepted by the sector unquestioningly. A feature of recent months has been a growing resistance movement (Moss 2019) which is challenging some of these initiatives in early education.
The ideas of resistance and activism often conjures up images of loud street marches and demonstrations with placards. In fact, when I searched the internet for ‘activism’ these are the kind of images that appear first. But while activism certainly includes these activities, I had a hunch that it might be defined as much more than this, and that it was playing out differently among early educators. Over the past three years I have been exploring the activism of early childhood educators in England as part of a PhD study and I share some of the findings below. All examples use pseudonyms.
Read the full piece on the Early Years Educator website
