ABSTRACT
This chapter explores the commodification of the workforce, and how those working in ECEC are alienated by societal norms, government policies, and business practices that undervalue the complexity and worth of their work. It begins with discussion of historical divisions between concepts of “care” and “education,” their manifestation in split or integrated ECEC systems, and implications for conceptualisations of the ECEC teacher/educator and their pay and working conditions. The chapter then discusses discourses associated with views of the ECEC teacher/educator as “substitute mother” and “technician” that have served to undervalue the complexity of ECEC work, constrain professional agency, and justify inequitable pay and employment conditions, contrasting these with an image of the teacher/educator as critical pedagogue and researcher. The main part of the chapter explores case studies of collectively organised actions and individual acts of resistance from Ontario, US, Aotearoa New Zealand, Nusa Tenggara Timur and Denmark, demonstrating alternative conceptualisations of the ECEC workforce, the purpose of ECEC and pathways for resisting commodification and alienation. The chapter ends with exploration of common themes in resisting alienation. It highlights the concept of solidarity, practitioners connecting as members of a group with a common purpose, and with allies and the wider public.
