Ondrej Kaščák | University of Trnava (original) (raw)

Books by Ondrej Kaščák

The publication presents the authors' conception of teacher education modules on basic education ... more The publication presents the authors' conception of teacher education modules on basic education theories. These modules are identified variously in teacher education (Theories of Education and Training, Theories of Training, Basics of Education etc.). This higher education textbook distinguishes between six different theoretical perspectives on education and schooling from various disciplines; however, unlike existing key textbooks it also looks at the differing ideological goals and the theoretical context. Hence the education theories initially presented in the literature review are not only considered as scientific theories but also as theories used to defend ideological standpoints that have specific social or economic goals. This approach has received critical acclaim in a number of reviews, and the book has now become a key text on teacher education courses in the Czech Republic and in Slovakia.

In response to criticisms of the weak links between education sciences and social sciences, parti... more In response to criticisms of the weak links between education sciences and social sciences, particularly in relation to teacher education (and in stark contrast to teacher education in developed countries), attempts were made to ground knowledge on the child and children’s cultures in social science and produce a textbook on the subject for teacher education courses provided by education departments. The book looks at children from two angles – from a traditional sociological perspective on growing up in an institutional environment and taking on elements of that culture; and from the new sociology of childhood perspective in which children are perceived to be an autonomous social group with its own value system and who come into contact with adult views and values. The view is that the mechanism of adaptation is not as important as that of negotiating interests. This perspective is of particular benefit to relations in school education and hence for prospective teachers. Within a couple of years of being published, the book came to feature as part of the recommended literature for teacher education courses in the Sociology of childhood or the Sociology of childhood and youth in both the Czech Republic and Slovakia.

This monograph presents the results of extensive ethnographic research conducted in a number of n... more This monograph presents the results of extensive ethnographic research conducted in a number of nursery and primary schools. The research investigated everyday ritualisation and specific ritual contexts and observed their significance in creating pupil identities and in ensuring effective socialisation. This publication significantly advanced the state of knowledge on the nature of school discipline and the mechanisms behind it. It identifies the factors behind children positively identifying with school and smoothly adapting to it as well as their acceptance of their social role as pupils. It also describes the process whereby a balanced child/pupil identity is acquired and the methods children use to resolve any conflicts between the two parts. It contributed to the field by enhancing pedagogic research both theoretically and methodologically, and it attracted attention from those working in ethnology as well.

This is a monograph on the findings of ethnographic research conducted in nursery schools analysi... more This is a monograph on the findings of ethnographic research conducted in nursery schools analysing examples of how the ‘hidden curriculum’ operates in Slovak early childhood education. This was the first systematic Slovak monograph published in the education sciences field to develop and empirically demonstrate the notion that the hidden curriculum is both a mechanism that reproduces culture as well as social inequalities. Hence it shows how socialisation in nursery schooling not only fulfils a social aim but also reproduces social inequalities and stereotypes at the non-reflexive level. The book is based on descriptions and analysis of everyday interactions in nursery schools in relation to management and peer culture. The research was positively received in the education sciences and attracted attention and responses from those working in social anthropology as well.

This monograph offers a complex view of the neoliberal governance of education, or neoliberal gov... more This monograph offers a complex view of the neoliberal governance of education, or neoliberal governmentality in education, both nationally and internationally, and has become an authoritative work in the Slovak and Czech Republics. It was the first pedagogical book by the Slovak authors to be published by Sociologické nakladatelství, a prestigious Czech publishing house. It is now considered to be the basic academic text analysing neoliberalism in education in this region. The monograph has been well received and is frequently cited not only by those dealing with pedagogy but also by those working in sociology.

Book Chapters by Ondrej Kaščák

Towards Social Justice in the Neoliberal Bologna Process, 2023

Higher education (HE) in Slovakia is undergoing a second massive wave of transformation that is a... more Higher education (HE) in Slovakia is undergoing a second massive wave of transformation that is a direct post-socialist response to the Standards and Guidelines for Quality Assurance in the European Higher Education Area (EHEA) (ESG, 2015). In Slovakia, these standards have led to the end of the previous accreditation model and the emergence of a new accreditation agency. It is through the new forms of assessment and assessment standards that one can observe the second wave of the neoliberalisation of HE in Slovakia that stems from the Bologna Process (BP). The chapter describes the nature and consequences of this second wave. The question is whether the new accreditation standards in Slovakia take into account the idea of social justice in HE and what type of effects the second wave of ‘Bologna’ neoliberalisation is having on social justice. The chapter relies on a thematic analysis of the following types of documents issued between 2002 and 2020: strategic government documents, internal regulations of the accreditation agency and course accreditation manuals. It compares the discourses on the accreditation criteria in both waves of the neoliberalisation of HE in Slovakia. The results of the analysis show that the meaning of social justice in these discourses lacks the emphasis on the social dimension particularly in the second phase of the BP in Slovakia.

Mierendorff, Grunau und Höhne (eds.). Der Elementarbereich im Wandel. Prozesse der Ökonomisierung des Frühpädagogischen. Weinheim Basel: Beltz Juventa in der Verlagsgruppe Beltz., 2022

Transforming Public Education in Africa, the Caribbean, and the Middle East, 2019

Early childhood development and education (ECDE) has gained prominence in Kenya's efforts to tran... more Early childhood development and education (ECDE) has gained prominence in Kenya's efforts to transform public education. Discourse analysis is used as an analytic tool to frame the national curriculum policy topics as well as the interpretations of globalization in education noting potential contradictions of said efforts at the local level of Kwale County. The chapter contributes to the understanding of the importance of education diplomacy and the recognition of cultural constructions of knowledge of Kenyan childhoods. This is accomplished through discussions of the devolution of Kenya's government under the 2010 constitution, and the impact of globalization on ECDE at local levels.

Wilkins, A., Olmedo, A. (eds.). Education Governance and Social Theory. Interdisciplinary Approaches to Research, 2018

Silova, Iveta, Millei, Zsuzsa, Piattoeva, Nelli (Eds.). 2018. Childhood and Schooling in (Post) Socialist Societies. Memories of Everyday Life , 2018

This chapter reconstructs socialist childhoods in Slovakia. It is based on autobiographical memor... more This chapter reconstructs socialist childhoods in Slovakia. It is based on autobiographical memory stories from the authors' lives and adopts a largely duoethnographic approach. Episodes from these socialist childhoods are narrated against Slovakia's chiefly Christian and agrarian traditions. In the 'building communism' era, these traditions encountered the newly introduced atheism and industrial way of life. The symbolic contrast between the 'two worlds' shaped the personal identities of their inhabitants that emerged out of the conflicts generated by these worlds. The analysis shows that the nature and timing of the communist transitional rituals borrowed heavily from their religious counterparts, illustrating the tensions between the two parallel worlds of socialist Slovakia and suggesting that there was no single indoctrinist socialist childhood.

In Strouhal, M., Štech, S. 2016. Vzdělání a dnešek. Pedagogické, filosofické, historické a sociální perspektivy. (Education and the Present. Pedagogical, Philosophical, Historical and Social Perspectives), pp. 106-123.

In: Iris Nentwig-Gesemann, I./Fröhlich-Gildhoff, K./ Betz, T. /Viernickel, S. (Hrsg.): Institutionalisierung früher Kindheit und Organisationsentwicklung. Band 9 der Reihe 'Forschung in der Frühpädagogik'.

Zusammenfassung: Im Beitrag wird die These einer zunehmenden Institutionalisierung früher Kindhei... more Zusammenfassung: Im Beitrag wird die These einer zunehmenden Institutionalisierung früher Kindheit problematisiert, indem diskursanalytisch rekonstruiert ist, wie in curricularen Dokumenten der vergangenen 30 Jahre ihre ‚Institutionalisierung‘ sowohl in Deutschland wie auch in der Slowakei hervorgebracht war. Dies geschah mittels diskursivem Rekonfigurieren von Kind/Kind-sein/Kindheit und pädagogischer Professionalität einerseits und Relationierungen der Institutionen Familie und Kindertageseinrichtung andererseits. Derartige Konstruktionen werden mit M. Foucault als historisch spezifische Wissen/Macht-Konstellationen untersucht und als Momente gesellschaftlicher Transgressionen verstanden.

Abstract: This article problematizes the thesis of an increase in the institutionalization of early childhood. By method of discourse analysis it seeks to show how curricular documents of the past 30 years generate ‘institutionalization’ through different constructions of the child/being-a-child/childhood and educational professionalism as well as through the relations between family and day care institutions. Comparing the Slovak and the German situation, we focus on the knowledge/power-constellations in different periods since 1985, which we see – in reference to M. Foucault – as moments of social transgression.

In psychologischen Kreisen wird nicht selten offen bezweifelt, dass die universitäre Psychologie ... more In psychologischen Kreisen wird nicht selten offen bezweifelt, dass die universitäre Psychologie dem heutigen Menschen überhaupt etwas zu sagen hat, und daher gefragt, ob sie insgesamt noch brauchbar ist (vgl. Bačová 2000). Es wird auf die mit Staub bedeckten Regale der Psychologie-Literatur vieler Universitätsbibliotheken hingewiesen, während andererseits das Interesse für Philosophie, Anthropologie, Literatur und Kunst anhaltend lebendig scheint (vgl. Kvale 1992). Die Infragestellung nicht nur der Hauptströmungen der psychologischen Forschung, sondern auch der psychologischen Fundamentalbegriffe und -kategorien wird dabei von Psychologen als ein Problem der traditionellen ontologischen Bestimmung der psychischen Realität wahrgenommen.

Kelle, H. & Mierendorff, J. (2013). Normierung und Normalisierung der Kindheit.

Papers by Ondrej Kaščák

Sociológia, 2023

The crisis of public education caused by school lockdowns during Covid-19 pandemic caused cultura... more The crisis of public education caused by school lockdowns during Covid-19 pandemic caused cultural shock but also opened the space for alternative modes of education such as homeschooling. Legitimacy of homeschooling and its popularity among parents and policymakers has already been increasing in the last decades. The aim of the study is to identify motives for homeschooling by a research design based on in-depth interviews with (grand)parents of homeschooled children. The results of analysis distinguished two types of motives: motives related to dissatisfaction of families with the performance of school system and motives related to family values and lifestyle .

European Journal of Education, 2023

The study on which this article reports sought to explain the complexity of the relationship betw... more The study on which this article reports sought to explain the complexity of the relationship between inclusion policies and practices in education in Slovakia. Education policy in Slovakia is characterised by an enduring resistance to inclusion practices, despite the presence of humanist inclusion discourses. Accordingly, education policy and practices in Slovakia manifest a conflicting or parallel application of humanist and neoliberal discourses on inclusion. The analysis presented identifies three types of inclusion discourses in Slovak education policy today: (1) general
individualised, (2) specified individualised, and (3) neoliberal discourses. Concrete examples are provided of each of the three types of discourses in Slovak education policy, to illustrate specific educational policies in different education sectors. Specific national challenges related to notions of inclusion and the associated paradoxes and differing perceptions of inclusion are discussed. The conclusion highlights the question of whether a truly democratic society can exist without humanistic and inclusive ideals.

Children's Geographies, 2023

The study describes elements of the daily spatial and time systems relating to online home-based ... more The study describes elements of the daily spatial and time systems relating to online home-based primary education during the pandemic school closures. It was conducted from the children's perspective (semistructured interviews with children), which is only marginally discussed in research on the effects of home-based education during the COVID-19 pandemic. The data were analysed using thematic analysis. The spatial recontextualization of the household and home, brought about through the transference of school functions to the home environment, cannot be viewed in isolation from the temporal recontextualization. The results point to a fundamental shift in the nature and functionality of educational space and time during the pandemic school closures and online home-based education. It changed not only the home and its time-space structures but also the educational space-time structures. These changes are described and discussed in relation to timegeography concepts and cultural analysis. Moreover, our data show that the children were able to develop strategies for adapting to and coping with the new educational situation and spatial-temporal context during the pandemic-driven shift to home-based education.

Free access to the article:
https://www.tandfonline.com/eprint/QSIY8SQE2SKYJ6JYGSX8/full?target=10.1080/14733285.2023.2175314

Sociologický časopis, 2022

The worldwide crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic forced many states to adopt strict anti-COVI... more The worldwide crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic forced many states to adopt strict anti-COVID measures aimed at social distancing. In the field of education, this involved closing schools and the continuation of education at home. In the Czech Republic, schools first closed in March 2021; the school closures lasted, with a few interruptions, for more than a year. Some educational functions that were traditionally performed by schools were temporarily transferred to parents of school-age children. This fact was a challenge for both schools and families and led to a temporary change in the distribution of educational responsibilities between the school and the family. From March to September 2021, we conducted a series of semi-structured interviews with the parents of children in primary schools who participated in their children’s education during the school closures. The data were analysed by means of a thematic analysis. The aim of the study was to shed light on the nature of parents’ educational involvement, describe new pedagogical aspects of parenthood that were not a part of it before the mass introduction of remote learning, and understand the reconfiguration of the relationship between school and family. The analysis of the data showed that the transfer of some educational responsibilities onto the shoulders of parents led to a quantitative and qualitative expansion of ‘pedagogical’ interventions in society, the (auto)didacticisation of parental identities, and a strengthening of parents’ ability to engage in pedagogical reflexivity.

Early Years, 2022

Europe is often characterized as being divided into four blocks of countries with their own disti... more Europe is often characterized as being divided into four blocks of countries with their own distinct cultural, historical, political, and economic characteristics. The geopolitical diversity within the EU is also recognized in a wide variety of different traditions for ECEC and upbringing of children. Nowadays, new reforms and policy initiatives are trying to introduce common ECEC quality framework. These recent developments might produce tensions, as the ECEC traditions seem to be incompatible with the new reforms to different degrees and might either slow or accelerate the political initiatives. This article aims to illuminate how different traditions affect everyday ECEC practice with examples from Eastern and Nordic ECEC. The recent development of economics-based approaches introduction of a common ECEC quality framework are critically discussed with reference to Danish and Slovak early childhood pedagogies. The method used is a comparative case study.

Free access to the article: https://www.tandfonline.com/eprint/2PKTCJ6PVW9IXAVUAFAW/full?target=10.1080/09575146.2022.2047012

Towards Social Justice in the Neoliberal Bologna Process, 2023

Mierendorff, Grunau und Höhne (eds.). Der Elementarbereich im Wandel. Prozesse der Ökonomisierung des Frühpädagogischen. Weinheim Basel: Beltz Juventa in der Verlagsgruppe Beltz., 2022

Transforming Public Education in Africa, the Caribbean, and the Middle East, 2019

Wilkins, A., Olmedo, A. (eds.). Education Governance and Social Theory. Interdisciplinary Approaches to Research, 2018

Silova, Iveta, Millei, Zsuzsa, Piattoeva, Nelli (Eds.). 2018. Childhood and Schooling in (Post) Socialist Societies. Memories of Everyday Life , 2018

Kelle, H. & Mierendorff, J. (2013). Normierung und Normalisierung der Kindheit.

Sociológia, 2023

European Journal of Education, 2023

Children's Geographies, 2023

Free access to the article:
https://www.tandfonline.com/eprint/QSIY8SQE2SKYJ6JYGSX8/full?target=10.1080/14733285.2023.2175314

Sociologický časopis, 2022

Early Years, 2022

Free access to the article: https://www.tandfonline.com/eprint/2PKTCJ6PVW9IXAVUAFAW/full?target=10.1080/09575146.2022.2047012

DISCOURSE: STUDIES IN THE CULTURAL POLITICS OF EDUCATION, 2022

This study draws on qualitative data to analyse the effect of the national Year 5 test culture on... more This study draws on qualitative data to analyse the effect of the national Year 5 test culture on test actors in selected Slovak schools. The test culture is presented in the context of disciplinary power, while the method of analysis follows Foucault’s later recommendation to focus more on the ‘new economy of power relations’. Such an analysis is more empirically oriented and takes account of, and even emerges from, practical forms of resistance. It allows for a better understanding of the complexity and diversity of social responsiveness to the normative test culture in the school and the relativization of the one-sided power-oriented perception of the effect of testing in school settings. The study presents a critical view of across-the board perceptions of national large-scale testing that ignore its specific normative setting and how it operates within the cultures themselves.

Free access to the article: https://www.tandfonline.com/eprint/BAZA8QCTCYUZYV6DIUAD/full?target=10.1080/01596306.2021.1919863

Human Affairs, vol. 32, no. 2, 2022, pp. 162-179., 2022

The present study analyses education policy in Slovakia and determines the role of the church in ... more The present study analyses education policy in Slovakia and determines the role of the church in education governance and the church-state relationship in education policy. The church-state relationship is also evident in the specific constellations of the national curriculum. The study highlights the de-secularisation trend in education policy and curricula and identifies the links between religious and nationalist education content, which are largely a relic of the historical (and controversial) era of Slovak statehood building. it also analyses Ethical Education, which is a specific (and internationally unique) school subject in Slovakia that has been shaped by a particular church-state 'ideological governing form'.

CPS Working Papers, CEU Center for Policy Studies, 2021

The main aim of the report is to describe and analyse the extent to which the Slovak education sy... more The main aim of the report is to describe and analyse the extent to which the Slovak education system is capable of adapting to future (foreseeable) societal and educational challenges, drawing on national data. The report compiles and summarizes basic data on the Slovak education system and education outcomes. In an effort to obtain a comprehensive view of Slovak education, a broad spectrum of relevant data of both a quantitative and qualitative nature was collected. Much of the national data is taken from analyses and reports by the state agencies within the orbit of the education ministry, but a substantial part comes from analyses by non-governmental organizations and independent reform initiatives. Slovak academic research provided another important source. International comparative studies (PIRLS, TIMMS, PISA, TALIS) and OECD and EU comparative analyses are also among the key sources used in this report. The results of the analysis provide worrying findings. Inefficient administration hinders school autonomy in Slovakia. The level of teacher engagement and the student engagement in education are low. Collaborative professional learning among teachers is one of the lowest. Pupils' learning cultures are traditional, without collaborative elements. Slovak students also lag behind in key educational areas. Moreover, young Slovaks are among the least engaged in leisure pursuits in Europe and are least likely to be actively involved in civic engagement and in preventing climate change.

Orbis Shcolae, 14 (3), 1−23, 2020

Štúdia sa zaoberá spôsobmi globálnej správy vzdelávania a súčasnými mechanizmami nadnárodného ovp... more Štúdia sa zaoberá spôsobmi globálnej správy vzdelávania a súčasnými mechanizmami nadnárodného ovplyvňovania vzdelávacích systémov a to najmä s dôrazom na vzdelávanie a starostlivosť v ranom detstve (VSRD). Cez diachrónnu analýzu diskurzu kľúčových dokumentov OECD a EU ďalej objasňuje novú politickú konceptualizáciu VSRD a aj sektora raného vzdelávania ako takého. Táto nová konceptualizácia, založená na prospektívnom a ekonomizujúcom vnímaní formovania v ranom detstve, je v špecifických národných kontextoch uplatňovaná pros-tredníctvom rôznorodých reformných mechanizmov a procesov. Tieto mechanizmy sú opísané na príklade aktuálneho vývoja na Slovensku a v Nemecku. Štúdia pre sektor VSRD potvrdzuje platnosť tzv. konvergenčnej hypotézy a to aj napriek diverzite tradícií VSRD v Európe.

Abstract: The study analyses the nature of global education governance and the mechanisms of transnational influencing of national education systems today, with an emphasis on early childhood education. Through a discursive analysis of key OECD and EU documents, it clarifies the new conceptualization of the early childhood education and early childhood education sector as such. The conceptualization, based on a prospective and economizing view, is promoted through various reform mechanisms within particular national contexts. The study gives examples of reform movements in Slovakia and Germany. The study confirms the validity of the so-called convergence hypothesis for early childhood education, despite the diversity of early childhood education traditions in Europe.

Pedagogika, 70(4), 407–424, 2020

This article analyses the neoliberal transformation of ECEC in five selected countries (Germany, ... more This article analyses the neoliberal transformation of ECEC in five selected countries (Germany, Slovakia, Indonesia, Nepal, and Kenya). Both the Global South and the Global North are represented. The countries were selected either because of the authors' involvement in research in the respective country or because of their long-term personal experience of that particular system of ECEC. The knowledge the authors acquired enabled them to delve deeper into the question of the point at which ECEC systems encounter neoliberal education policy and to describe the different ways in which the countries have adapted to the new policies. The article shows that neoliberal education policies require different types of adaptation and that these may have very different effects on the system of ECEC-from a change in concept to system convergence and practical resistance or total governance of the ECEC sector. The article contributes to a more granular understanding of the effect of the economising discourse on the ECEC sector.

Studia Paedagogica, 2020

The Slovak teaching profession is in a difficult situation. There are signs that the country is f... more The Slovak teaching profession is in a difficult situation. There are signs that the country is facing a teaching staff shortage and that the demand for new teachers will continue to grow. The data indicate that some subjects are being taught by unqualified teachers on a fairly wide scale. Finding quick, simple solutions to these problems is a challenge because teaching is not considered an attractive profession, mainly because of teachers' low salaries and social status. We will illustrate related uncertainties and complications in the teaching profession by looking at two extremes of these trends in the teaching profession. On the one side, we have Teach for Slovakia, which has opened potential for new teaching qualification models. It is an example of inclusive education in the sense that it only works when differences among teachers are accepted and the focus is on teachers' strong points and professional characteristics. On the other side, the introduction of national testing has made teachers accountable for student educational outcomes. Our qualitative interviews reveal that, in the (sometimes critical) views of teachers, accountability is now part of professionalism in Slovakia and is producing various tensions.

Sociologia - Slovak Sociological Review, 2018

The purpose of this study is to provide empirical evidence on the economic incentive policies des... more The purpose of this study is to provide empirical evidence on the economic incentive policies designed by school leadership teams in private subsidized schools in Chile. The case studies are investigated using a qualitative methodological approach involving the comparative analysis of data collected through in-depth interviews. The findings show that the incentives have been variously designed in relation to purpose, structure and value. Some are targeted at teachers, while others reflect student learning outcomes based on standardized tests, student attendance and teaching staff work discipline. Economic incentive policies should ensure the impact on learning outcomes. However, this was not done in the cases investigated in this study. Further investigation is required to address this research area, as it has not been sufficiently explored in the literature.

Dominant and silenced ECEC discourses – the international perspective on power relations (Themed Issue), 2017

The article analyses the Slovak preschool education sector using Bourdieu's field theory. It desc... more The article analyses the Slovak preschool education sector using Bourdieu's field theory. It describes stable and volatile points in the evolution of preschool education in terms of the power games occurring within the specific social field of power relations shaped during these games. It explores the groups of powerful players that represent the political, civic-professional and academic sub-fields exerting an influence over the preschool field who in different ways and at various times control the preschool field and structure within it the hierarchy of power relations in preschool education governance. The analysis is empirically illustrated; the power relations played out and were renewed when the national preschool curriculum was undergoing fundamental change. It describes the strategies, processes and consequences of changes in the power relations between the sub-fields and the associated behaviour of the actors. The analysis shows how the power conflicts ultimately led to the homologous relations between the sub-fields transforming into democratically-structured power relations in preschool education governance.

Journal of Education Policy, 2017

The neoliberalisation of higher education in post-communist central and eastern Europe, the new E... more The neoliberalisation of higher education in post-communist central and
eastern Europe, the new EU member states, is not seen as being distinct.
Implementation of the Bologna Process and Lisbon Strategy means it has become part of the competitive global sphere of higher education. The transformation of post-communist higher education has attracted little attention, but it is in fact an example of an unprecedented radical 25 yearlong transformation: from centralised non-research-orientated communist policy to the radical autonomous Humboldtian environment that emerged after the fall of communism to a strong European neoliberalisation. This article highlights not only the gradual and unique nature of these processes but also shows how they have merged to form the current neoliberalist hybrid. Focusing primarily on former Czecho-Slovakia and the subsequent Slovak and Czech Republics, it details the education policy strategies and initiatives that have contributed to this process. By examining the new educational policy framework at a Slovak university, it shows how Humboldtian culture encountered neoliberal culture: a distinct feature of post-communist neoliberalisation. It is suggested that the Slovak and Czech implementation of neoliberalism has not proved immune to forms of governance similar to those found under communism; rather the two have fused together.

Childhoods in contemporary Kenya are entangled with discourses of care in a post-colonial landsca... more Childhoods in contemporary Kenya are entangled with discourses of care in a post-colonial landscape. Such imaginaries of childhoods through discourses of 'care' and 'charity' are well established through Western lenses. Another lens that is often enacted is the lens of de-commercialised, un-spoilt, pure and innocent childhoods in the Kenyan landscape. In this study, the authors utilize Nel Nodding's concept of an ethics of care, and a feminist lens, to explore this binary of Western views through real experiences of childhoods. This paper provides an analysis of childhoods as lived experiences in Kenya, and challenges constructions of children/childhoods as vulnerable, based upon observations and interviews conducted in Kenya in the remote area of Kwale County.

Early Years, 2017

This article examines Slovak early years teachers’ concerns with conceptions of teacher professio... more This article examines Slovak early years teachers’ concerns with
conceptions of teacher professionalism. It suggests that there is
a mismatch between understandings of professionalism, policy aspirations and the attitudes of teachers to their own professionalism, and that this mismatch fuels early years teachers’ sense of agency. These tensions between conceptions of professionalism, teaching practice and actual working conditions have led to a groundup approach to self-governance within the early years teacher workforce. We analyse teachers’ discussions in an early years online forum of 12,500 members that was started and remains governed by the teachers themselves. It represents in itself a very particular attitude and response to the need to determine what it means to be a professional teacher. This analysis examines intersections of policy, quality and professionalism, and highlights considerations of power and voice, and the complexities of uncertainty and change. The article concludes with the suggestion that teacher attitudes, power and agency are impacted in unpredictable ways by the policy landscape.

Policy Futures in Education, 2016

Early years education in Europe and elsewhere around the world is currently in the spotlight due ... more Early years education in Europe and elsewhere around the world is currently in the spotlight due to political and economical changes and subsequent promises of effective investment into its provision. In this article we analyse everyday preschool practices in Slovakia in terms of tensions between policies, the teachers workforce and the concept of professionalism. Through bureaucratic scientisation, teachers become subjects with bureaucratic subjectivities, and they are expected to devote increasing amounts of time to planning, reporting and administrative tasks. Teachers are decreasingly focused on the actual work on the ground with the children, and are concerned instead with notions of accountability and reporting, which supposedly raises their professional status. Slovakia's experience of the bureaucratic subjectivities of early years teachers has complex ramifications for European and overseas countries as it problematises and unmasks the global issues of complex tensions between the teachers and policy documents.

Study evaluates how university departments of preschool and primary school education are involved... more Study evaluates how university departments of preschool and primary school education are involved in international publication activities. Data collected from 9 departments of teacher training colleges in Slovakia are analysed to summarise publications of 122 faculties from these departments registered in 4 academic databases − SCOPUS, Web of Science, ERIC and Proquest Central. Comparative analysis of total number of publications registered in all selected databases and in individual databases either is used to evaluate scientific activity of departments in time series. Results of analyses show significant gap between departments and profound lag of many of departments in these indicators of the quality of scientific activities. These analyses also show that only one university would meet criteria adjusted for accreditation of doctoral study program in this study area and three universities for accreditation of master study program. Moreover, study defends the stand-point that contemporary pressure on meeting scientometric indicators is beneficial for academic culture in this area and its denial as a representation of neoliberal terror will not stand on in the Slovak academic environment.

Early Childhood Education Journal, 2016

The school system in the Slovak Republic, as in other post-communist countries, was first reforme... more The school system in the Slovak Republic, as in other post-communist countries, was first reformed at the beginning of the 1990s. It was not until 2008, when an education law was adopted to set out new parameters for creating a national curriculum at all levels, that fundamental curricular reforms were made. Thus the law also meant that preschool educational institutions could be fully incorporated into the school system and that an entirely new national curriculum could be developed for these schools (nursery schools). The ten-year national Education Programme for Nursery Schools ceased to be valid and nursery schools were faced with the task of implementing the new 2008 national programme. The national curriculum soon began to exhibit fundamental flaws and so a new version had to be produced in 2013. Within a short period of time, teachers were faced with the pressures of having two new national curriculums. This study captures the way in which teachers dealt with this process when first encountering the 2013 national curriculum. This was accomplished by intentionally using Facebook as a con- textual platform alternative to face-to-face research; as a unique research tool, and as data source. The data collected and analysed from the Facebook platform was based on discussion topics created by teachers. The discussion platform provided access to the emotional side of teachers’ reactions to the changes taking place, which must be considered a significant factor in implementing reform. The article describes the various emotional states preschool teachers experience while accepting or resisting the various forms of the national curriculum.

Human Affairs, 2014, 24 (4): 545-563

Slovak education policy is an example of the kind of transformations occurring in the education s... more Slovak education policy is an example of the kind of transformations occurring in the education spheres of postcommunist countries. While at the end of the 1990s, it seemed that education policy was still attempting to ensure that Slovakia caught up with education levels in western countries, the period that followed brought with it a shift towards neoliberalization of the education sector and towards the economization of education. Slovakia’s entry into the EU was accompanied by the total assimilation of the neoliberal agenda within education and since then it can be said that Slovak education policy has followed a path towards so-called perpetual neoliberalism. The aim of this article is to show how education policy has developed within Slovak politics, in terms of how it is gradually adapting to neoliberal ideas. The article analyzes government documents from 1998 onwards, particularly Slovak government programs, which document the process of neoliberalization in education.

Dominant and silenced ECEC discourses – the international perspective on power relations

The political and global transformation of ECEC has been the subject of a great deal of research.... more The political and global transformation of ECEC has been the subject of a great deal of research. The aim of this special issue is not simply to contribute to the production of articles critical of the hegemonic neoliberal governance of ECEC. Rather than adding to the increasingly detailed descriptions of the 'enemy' or identified 'evil', this issue seeks to highlight the different pathways into the differentiation and democratization of ECEC. We seem to be quite capable of identifying the ways in which neoliberal-ism has filtered into forms of governance in ECEC at the local level. But we are still at the early stages of conceiving of and developing ways of responding to the new transformation and defining our positions of practice and influence – as academics, teachers, carers, parents, citizens and, yes, as education policymakers too.

Executive Editors: Zachary Casey, Rhodes College, Memphis, US Ondrej Kaščák, Trnava Universit... more Executive Editors:

Zachary Casey, Rhodes College, Memphis, US
Ondrej Kaščák, Trnava University in Trnava, SVK (Lead Editor)
Iveta Kovalčíková, Prešov University in Prešov, SVK
Branislav Pupala, Slovak Academy of Sciences in Bratislava, SVK
Marek Tesar, The University of Auckland, NZ
Andrew Wilkins, University of East London, UK

Editorial Advisory Board:

Stephen Ball, University of London, UK
Jean‑Louis Derouet, Institut National de Recherche Pédagogique, Lyon, France
Francesca Gobbo, University of Turin, Italy
Tomáš Janík, Masaryk University, Brno, Czech Republic
Alison Jones, University of Auckland, NZ
Mary Koutselini, University of Cyprus, Nicosia
Ivan Lukšík, Trnava University in Trnava, SVK
Tata Mbugua, University of Scranton, US
Peter McLaren, Chapman University, US
Sudarshan Panigrahi, The Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda, India
Michael A. Peters, University of Waikato, Hamilton, NZ
Sally Power, Cardiff University, Wales, UK
Norbert Ricken, The University of Bremen, Germany
Patricia Scully, University of Maryland, US
Klára Šeďová, Masaryk University, Brno, Czech Republic
Martin Strouhal, Charles University, Prague, Czech Republic
Stanislav Štech, Charles University, Prague, Czech Republic
Richard Tabulawa, University of Botswana, Gaborone
Ikechukwu Ukeje, Kennesaw State University, US
Isabella Wong Yuen Fun, National Institute of Education, Singapore
Christoph Wulf, Freie Universität Berlin, Germany
Oľga Zápotočná, Slovak Academy of Sciences in Bratislava, SVK
Jörg Zirfas, Friedrich‑Alexander University Erlangen‑Nürnberg, Germany

Editorial Assistant:

Zuzana Daniskova, Trnava University in Trnava, SVK

Language Editor:

Catriona Menzies

In recent years ECEC has undergone dynamic change across the globe. The curricularisation and ins... more In recent years ECEC has undergone dynamic change across the globe. The curricularisation and institutionalisation of ECEC launched in the global discourse of the late 1990s has recently begun to feature alongside various forms of centralised ECEC management and is gradually becoming integrated into the audit culture of education. Moreover the basic goals of ECEC are repeatedly being questioned in light of the increasing emphasis on the economic advantages and on how it relates to employability, economic growth and the removal of social inequalities. These issues are increasingly being addressed by a number of experts from various fields. ECEC is a topic that has forcefully entered the social 'field of power' (Bourdieu 1996), becoming in one way or another part of government programmes and supranational strategies.

This special issue of the Journal of Pedagogy will map out the way in which ECEC has come to occupy the central stage in discussions on education. It will attempt to show how perceptions of ECEC have changed as it has achieved its current global political legitimacy. At the same time it will highlight the consequences this change in perception is having both nationally and supranationally. It will encourage critical analysis of the effects this transformation of ECEC discourses has had in different national and cultural contexts. With the above aims in mind, this special issue of JoP will concentrate on the following questions:

What are the competing philosophies on ECEC? On which discursive levels do they exist and in which cultural and political contexts do they apply?
What are the negotiated relations between education and care, and how are they rooted in the management of education?
How is the new global ECEC discourse disrupting/reshaping traditions in specific countries or contexts?
What position does ECEC occupy in current negotiations on education policies?
Which actors are determining ECEC discourse in local and global education policies?
What is the role of the ECEC expert? How do the expert teams who determine standpoints on ECEC policies operate?
Who are the most significant players in global ECEC policy and what language games are played?
What potential is there for alternative and marginal ECEC discourses to assert themselves?
Is there a need for activism to question the global discourse on ECEC? What forms might that take?