Professionalisation of early childhood education and care practitioners: Working conditions in Ireland

The last decade has revealed a global (re)configuring of the relationships between state, society and educational settings in direction systems performance management. In this article, authors conduct critical feminist inquiry into changing relationship relation to professionalisation early childhood education care practitioners Ireland, with focus on dilemmatic contradictions policy reform ensemble practitioners’ reported working conditions doctoral study. critique draws from politics power education, gendered classed subjectivities, allows theorise alternative emancipatory ways for democratic pedagogy rather than limited performativity. findings reveal state (re)configured as central command centre an over-reliance surveillance, alongside deficits responsibility public interest values workers, who are mostly part-time ‘pink-collar’ women workers precarious roles. study implications that go beyond Ireland meeting developmental needs young children.