Blocks are educational: revealing discourses through early childhood policy illustrations

Abstract

In the course of a study on the impacts of changing early childhood policy in Aotearoa New Zealand since 1989, the illustrations accompanying three major government reports and policies stood out as encapsulating the changes in underlying discourses. This enabled the illustrations from these three policy reports to be used for a historical analysis of shifting discourses, which highlighted the trends towards human capital theory and an increasing educationalisation of early childhood as the basis for policy. It is noted that the latter two reports feature cover pictures with block play. The particular historic positioning of block play at the juncture between acceptable early childhood and school pedagogy is explored, suggesting a compromise between discourses of early childhood care and education for human capital development purposes, and for the holistic development of the child.