ABSTRACT
In this article we offer an ontological theorization of care. The article interrogates the
self-evident quality of everyday meanings for ‘care’ that might be generated from psychologi-
cal or biological discourses; we aim to question the way that ‘care’ is applied in a technical or
an emotional sense within the field of early childhood education. The article works towards
offering a new theorization that does not treat the meaning of ‘care’ as self-evident. If ‘care’
is a way of addressing concern for ourselves as human beings, we think that deepening the
theoretical parameters of this concept will add to how we understand the complexity of gender
and race relations. By articulating Heidegger’s use of ‘care’ and comparing it to Irigaray’s
critique of Heidegger’s work on this concept, we hope to enable professionals and families to
view conceptions of ‘care’ outside the familiar definitions applied in everyday discourse. The
article treats early childhood education professional practice as an instance of how both gender
and race delimit the way in which human relationships can be understood.
