ABSTRACT
This chapter sets out the theoretical tools I use to examine issues of inequality in early years education. These tools are useful in thinking about power, identity, subjectivity, agency, discourse, ‘race’, class and gender, all of which are important facets of the complex data I discuss in this book. I begin by setting out the framework, influenced by Michel Foucault, which I use to explore power and discourse, locating this in the wider poststructural field. I explain how Judith Butler's notion of performativity can be helpful in examining issues of identity, and gender in particular, and how this can be used to consider what it means to be a learner in classrooms, and to engage with ‘performative politics’. Further tools from postcolonial studies and Critical Race Theory are explained, with reference in particular to the use of intersectionality in making sense of issues of identity in education. I also set out how I use ideas from ‘policy sociology’ to consider the impact of policy on school practices and teachers. There are some tensions between these broadly critical approaches, which I acknowledge; however, I would argue that this range of tools is needed to make sense of the complexity of the issue of inequality in early years education. A final section of this chapter provides some information on the study on which this book is based and the schools involved.
