Globalising Childhood: Assembling the Bicultural Child in the New Zealand Early Childhood Curriculum, Te Whariki

Abstract

In this article I use Te Whariki as a site to critically examine the relationship between the discourses of childhood, neoliberalism, and globalisation.  I argue that the bicultural child in Te Whariki produces a neoliberal/global version of childhood in the context of early childhood education in AotearoaNew Zealand.  The bicultural discourse articulated in Te Whariki operates on the basis of two separate domains.  The structure of the document is binary, thus reinforcing essential difference with little space for the interweaving and exploration of 'difference'.  However, Te Whariki can be read in multiple ways; if the bicultural child is understood as an assemblange of discourses, it becomes possible to strengthen those aspects that foster a culture of engagement with difference.  By providing multiple readings of the bicultural child, this article seeks to disrupt the production of a 'smooth' bicultural person by making the tensions and contradiction within the assemblage visible.