Becoming Critically Reflective About Early Childhood Education: Australian Educational Leaders Effecting Change as Street-Level Bureaucrats

Abstract

The political landscape of the early childhood sector in Australia has undergone significant changes in the past few years whereby its workforce has been brought iuto compliance by stealth with national laws and regulations, curriculum frameworks, and quality assurance processes in unprecedented ways. Market-driven forces are impacting the work of early childhood educators demanding accountability and compliance. Prior to the 1990s, the early childhood sector was characterized by "nice ladies who love children" (Stonehouse, 1989). Today, driven by a market-oriented productivity agenda, early childhood education (ECE) is a highly regulated and managed sector where professional practice is subjected to external and internal scrutiny.