Revealing colonial power relations in early childhood policy making : an autoethnographic story on selective evidence

Abstract
The COVID-19 pandemic exposes uncertainty, instability and glaring inequality that requires urgent global policy decisions. Historically, bureaucrats regard uncertainty as the enemy and look for tested solutions (Stevens, 2011). In contrast, Fielding & Moss (2010) acknowledge an uncertain future and encourage shifting policy making towards the search for possibilities instead of replicating singular solutions. Escobar (2020) advocates for pluriversal politics, with many possibilities created through collective decision-making by autonomous interlinked networks. In this paper, I combine autoethnography with policy analysis drawing on my own experience in South African early childhood policy making. I argue for a fresh decolonial debate about early childhood policy to replace dominant imported evidence-based narratives. I pay attention to power relations and examine, not only the content of evidence, but who has authority to speak (Mignolo, 2007). I introduce the bottom-up appreciative participatory dialogical policy making in the Gauteng Impilo project (1996 - 2000), as one attempt to resist the dominant policy trajectory. Local networks, that can inform policy making and resource allocation though conversation and action, emerged from this experience. This article invites urgent inclusive policy debate that expands choices and can produce cumulative worthwhile change and new learnings to birth a better society.
Main Author
Format
Articles Research article
Published
2021
Series
Subjects
Publication in research information system
Publisher
Istanbul Kultur University
The permanent address of the publication
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:jyu-202102231746Use this for linking
Review status
Peer reviewed
ISSN
2717-638X
DOI
https://doi.org/10.37291/2717638x.20212158
Language
English
Published in
Journal of Childhood, Education and Society
Citation
  • Rudolph, N. (2021). Revealing colonial power relations in early childhood policy making : an autoethnographic story on selective evidence. Journal of Childhood, Education and Society, 2(1), 14-28. https://doi.org/10.37291/2717638x.20212158
License
CC BY-NC-ND 4.0Open Access
Additional information about funding
The author received a scholarship from the University of Jyväskylä during part of the period of work on this article.
Copyright© 2021 Journal of Childhood, Education & Society

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