Incommensurable Tensions Facing Early Childhood Education Transitions: A Collective Writing Project
Saved in:
| Title: | Incommensurable Tensions Facing Early Childhood Education Transitions: A Collective Writing Project |
|---|---|
| Language: | English |
| Authors: | Natália M. S. Costa (ORCID |
| Source: | Policy Futures in Education. 2026 24(2):208-223. |
| Availability: | SAGE Publications. 2455 Teller Road, Thousand Oaks, CA 91320. Tel: 800-818-7243; Tel: 805-499-9774; Fax: 800-583-2665; e-mail: journals@sagepub.com; Web site: https://sagepub.com |
| Peer Reviewed: | Y |
| Page Count: | 16 |
| Publication Date: | 2026 |
| Document Type: | Journal Articles Reports - Descriptive |
| Education Level: | Early Childhood Education |
| Descriptors: | Early Childhood Education, Theory Practice Relationship, Educational Policy, Educational Practices, Conflict, Equal Education, Sense of Belonging, Learning Trajectories, Stakeholders, Age |
| DOI: | 10.1177/14782103251368944 |
| ISSN: | 1478-2103 |
| Abstract: | This collective writing article addresses transitions into, between and out of early childhood education and care (ECEC) from the standpoint of incommensurability, which entails a lack of a common measure between diverging standards, values and priorities between competing instances involved into a shared matter (Bird, 2000; Chang, 2013). We explore incommensurable tensions as non-reconcilable issues that arise between stakeholders, educational systems, socio-political landscapes and participating communities involved in transitions. The paper underscores four incommensurable tensions: First, policy into practice, discussing agenda conflicts between policy, funding and pedagogical orientations against the private life of under-three children transitioning into ECEC and the burdens of families and educators; second, equality versus equity in transitions, applying the tensional relation between these concepts to children's sense of belonging and resources in transition; third, in whose best interest, contesting the 'best interests of the child' discourse over economic needs of families, educational institutions, and societies; and fourth, orienting age, exploring age as an orienting factor of institutional transition trajectories which produce age progression (de)valuation. Finally, the subsection Infant's transition to ECEC: Incommensurable tensions in need to be overcome, written as a commentary to the main text by an invited collaborator, concludes the text. |
| Abstractor: | As Provided |
| Entry Date: | 2026 |
| Accession Number: | EJ1499356 |
| Database: | ERIC |
| Abstract: | This collective writing article addresses transitions into, between and out of early childhood education and care (ECEC) from the standpoint of incommensurability, which entails a lack of a common measure between diverging standards, values and priorities between competing instances involved into a shared matter (Bird, 2000; Chang, 2013). We explore incommensurable tensions as non-reconcilable issues that arise between stakeholders, educational systems, socio-political landscapes and participating communities involved in transitions. The paper underscores four incommensurable tensions: First, policy into practice, discussing agenda conflicts between policy, funding and pedagogical orientations against the private life of under-three children transitioning into ECEC and the burdens of families and educators; second, equality versus equity in transitions, applying the tensional relation between these concepts to children's sense of belonging and resources in transition; third, in whose best interest, contesting the 'best interests of the child' discourse over economic needs of families, educational institutions, and societies; and fourth, orienting age, exploring age as an orienting factor of institutional transition trajectories which produce age progression (de)valuation. Finally, the subsection Infant's transition to ECEC: Incommensurable tensions in need to be overcome, written as a commentary to the main text by an invited collaborator, concludes the text. |
|---|---|
| ISSN: | 1478-2103 |
| DOI: | 10.1177/14782103251368944 |
