The multiple faces of everyday life: Frame analysis of early childhood practices

Abstract

SUMMARY Over the last two decades, educational researchers and theorists have begun to create new ways of conceptualising and analysing the versatility of educational work. In this paper, I present a study based on Erving Goffman's frame analytical approach (1974), which has been considered one of the most challenging descriptions of the complexity of everyday life. According to Goffman, reality is composed of many different ‘worlds’, each of which has its own realm of existence. Frame analysis aims at finding out about the rich variation of everyday life, i.e. the various sub-worlds maintained by frames. The purpose of the present study was to explore the frames through which educators in early childhood programmes interpret their working situations. The data consisted of observations and interviews of nine Finnish early educators. The findings indicated that the educators interpreted their work through five different frames: 1) educational, 2) caring, 3) managing, 4) practical, and 5) personal. The frames provided the rules and principles of work practices as well as the layered structure of everyday life. The implications for reflecting and developing day care practices are also discussed in this paper.