Abstract
The binary logic of policymakers’ neoliberal reforms has restructured kindergarten into a learning environment where teachers struggle to nurture children as learners. At the same time, the critiques that challenge these policies are also rooted in this binary logic. This allows policymakers’ neoliberal reforms to remain intact. In this article, I address this issue through analysing findings from a larger research study that examined how a range of education stakeholders (n=88) made sense of the changed kindergarten through binary logic. I then take apart these three binaries that emerged in my analysis process to provide insight into possible pathways for change that education stakeholders at all levels of governance can begin to engage in to dismantle policymakers’ neoliberal education reforms.
Highlights
The narrative that kindergarten in the United States (US) is the new first grade is pervasive (Bassok, Latham, & Rorem, 2016)
As Ms Fritz, a parent of kindergartener in West Virginia (WV) school district two (WVSD2) stated, Kindergarten is their one chance to be little because they spend their whole life in school, but, you want them to do well and be successful in school because, in a global world, things are just expanding at such a high level that you just have to keep up
The focus on the future for the kindergarten teachers in this study was tied to ensuring children would be competitive in the global economy and prepared for the high-stakes tests that awaited them in later grades
Summary
The narrative that kindergarten in the United States (US) is the new first grade is pervasive (Bassok, Latham, & Rorem, 2016). Education researchers have documented how policymakers’ neoliberal education reforms have turned kindergarten into a learning environment that privileges children’s academic performance over their development and learning (Brown, Englehardt, Barry, & Ku, 2019a; Graue, 2009) Many of these critiques, including my own with colleagues (e.g., Brown, Englehardt, Barry, & Ku, 2019b), are rooted in a binary logic (e.g., ready vs unready student) that positions the constructs defining public schooling, the act of teaching, the process of learning, families, and even the children themselves in opposition with each other (Mac Naughton, 2005). I begin to pull apart some of these binaries that emerged in my analysis by employing Mac Naughton’s (2005) and others (e.g., Foucault, 1982) tools for deconstruction
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
