ABSTRACT
This chapter summarises the main findings presented in the book, and elaborates upon Gramsci's concepts of good sense and counter-hegemony, exposing contradictions within the alternative conceptualisations and resistance presented in previous chapters. Early childhood care and education (ECEC) actors – children, educators, parents, and community members – simultaneously accept mainstream ideas, about the gendered nature of working with children or about childcare as a for-profit enterprise, and centre belonging and community values that cannot be measured. The conclusion explores the idea of “quality” as a social project, claiming that education cannot be separated from a common social project, and attention to the common good. This common good is defined locally and in situated contexts, through democratic processes. Some aspects of childcare “quality” may be quasi-universal, such as educational and emotional support and health and safety measures, while others may be central concepts that exist alongside “quality,” like love, solidarity, and ecological justice. The chapter concludes with a discussion of the implications for ECEC research, policy, and practice, suggesting that ECEC professionals should be viewed as social agents, and ECEC as a social project and a universal right.
