Men and Care: Diversity and Equity

Abstract

This chapter takes a close look at the concept of care considering arguments about care diversity and care equity in early childhood education: what kinds of care practices take place and who performs them. I begin by considering how care is downgraded in neoliberal education policy, illustrating from a recent study of primary school ‘nurture groups’ (NGs). I consider feminist theories of care using the related concepts of emotional labour and privileged irresponsibility to explore how gender mediates care practices, grounded in the realities of life at Acorns preschool. This includes a focus on embodied and emotional practices and the influence of public suspicion about men working with young children.