Caring well for children in ECEC from a wholeness approach – The role of moral imagination

Abstract

In this paper, I propose a theoretical framework for understanding professional care in the context of Early Childhood and Care (ECEC). This proposal aims at further developing a cultural-historical wholeness approach to the central topic of professional care in ECEC. As inspirational source I explore the role of moral imagination and apply insights from moral philosophy in combination with cultural-historical wholeness approach to children's needs and development. I suggest to making a distinction between two main forms of caring corresponding to two different forms of moral imagination in caring well for children in ECEC: 1) Responsive caring, is the kind of care where the educators attend to children's needs for well-being in the here and now. In responsive caring moral imagination plays a role mainly in the shape of empathetic imagination. 2) Proactive caring is a strategic kind of caring for children where the educators attend to the child's motives, engagements and projects, collaborating with the child on transforming and expanding his/her participation possibilities in relationships and activities. This requires a future-oriented gaze at the child, and thus a different kind of moral imagination, based on extended anticipatory goals. Finally, I suggest that moral imagination has a central role to play also in developing and sustaining collective professional caring standards.