T. Farrell A history of the present: A Foucauldian genealogy of early years pedagogy in Ireland A thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Education 2019 ii BLANK PAGE iii A history of the present: A Foucauldian genealogy of early years pedagogy in Ireland By: Thérèse Farrell A thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Education The University of Sheffield Faculty of Social Sciences School of Education September 2019 iv BLANK PAGE v Abstract This research presents a genealogical account of how power has shaped early childhood pedagogy in the Republic of Ireland. Using a Foucauldian lens, the research traces the genealogy of pedagogy for young children from the 18th century to the present day. In doing so, it describes the history of the present discourse of early years pedagogy. While the research is framed from an Irish perspective, it contributes to the global discourse on pedagogy by reimagining pedagogy through a local lens. The research design weaves practices of self and interludes throughout the narrative to deconstruct Foucauldian thinking and contest regimes of truth within the early childhood canon of knowledge. The unfolding of various types and sources of power, including sovereign, disciplinary, biopower, and the micro-physics of power leads to the various constructions of the child within particular épistèmes. These images of the child include the Romantic Child; the State Child; the Catholic Child; the Neoliberal Child; the Global Child, and the Policy Child. This research argues that the positioning of children in this way impacts the construction of pedagogy. The interplay of power within societal, economic, cultural, religious, and political movements in Irish society also contributes to the development of early years pedagogy and these movements are delineated throughout the research. The research creates a new genealogy of early years pedagogy specific to the Irish landscape. The findings can be applied to other contexts, however. A significant contribution to knowledge that emanates from this research is that power has produced and continues to produce early years pedagogy. While each épistème differed in terms of the cultural, societal, religious, political, and economic movements in Irish life, this research argues that a framework of pedagogical development emerged in the 18th century and the same pattern continues to produce early years pedagogy today. As such, Karr’s maxim, plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose, could be applied to the genealogy of the construction of early years pedagogy from an Irish perspective. vi Acknowledgements To Professor Elizabeth Wood, thank you Liz for your wisdom, support and for our many conversations about Foucault! It is one of the great privileges of my life that you supervised my doctoral research. To Dr. Elizabeth Chesworth, thank you Liz for your guidance and for encouraging me to push the boundaries of what I thought I was capable of. Your advice will continue to ring in my ear. To my wonderful friends, for knowing when I needed fun and still being there when I needed space. Thank you to Carmel and all my Mohill girls, my Lucan ladies, Maura, Michelle and my friends in work especially Fiona, Una and Lorraine. I am so lucky to have you all. A special thanks to my EdD friends Alex and Jack, thank you for the great weekends, the meaningful chats and the laughs. To my best friend, Eiméar, thank you so much for always being by my side, for believing in me and for brightening my world! You are so special to me. A special mention to my gorgeous Godchildren, Darragh, Roibín and Isla. I am so lucky to have you all in my life. Thank you to my own Godparents, Betty and Seán, for their constant guidance and support. To my extended family, my parents-in-law, Mary and John, my four beautiful sisters-in-law and my nieces and nephews. Thank you for your friendship and love. To my brother John, and Sarah, thank you for being a wonderful brother and a great friend. To my sister Maria, and Marc, thank you Mia for the constant love, support and friendship. To my two newest family members, Oisín and Isla, I love you both so much. To my Mam and Dad, thank you doesn’t seem enough. Thank you Mam for being my role model, for your unwavering support and belief in me. Thank you Dad for giving me my determination, my resilience and my sense of fun. I love you both so much. I am so lucky to have you as my parents and I am so proud to be your daughter. And finally, to John, my closest friend, my husband, my Bob. Thank you for your love, encouragement and friendship. I could not have achieved this without you. You are my world. I dedicate this to you. vii Contents Chapter 1. Knowledge is made for cutting ............................................................................... 1 Reimagining the past ................................................................................................................ 3 Positionality ............................................................................................................................. 4 Problematising pedagogy .......................................................................................................... 7 Research question .................................................................................................................. 11 Research design...................................................................................................................... 15 Mapping the research ............................................................................................................. 16 Interludes .............................................................................................................................. 19 Approach ............................................................................................................................... 20 Autoethnography ................................................................................................................... 22 The role of autoethnography in poststructural theory............................................................... 24 Genealogy and autoethnography............................................................................................. 26 Practices of self ...................................................................................................................... 27 Regime of truth ...................................................................................................................... 29 Fracture, discontinuity and uncertainty.................................................................................... 39 Privileging the past ................................................................................................................. 44 Conclusion ............................................................................................................................. 46 Chapter 2. Foucault?...too complex…don’t use him! .............................................................. 47 Interlude: Gnothi seauton ....................................................................................................... 48 Interlude: Foucault?...too complex…don’t use him! .................................................................. 50 Interlude: Power is everywhere ............................................................................................... 51 Interlude: Discipline and Punish............................................................................................... 53 Power .................................................................................................................................... 56 Power as repressive or productive? ......................................................................................... 56 Interlude: Disciplinary power in modern Irish society................................................................ 58 Interlude: Las Meninas............................................................................................................ 58 Power and knowledge ............................................................................................................ 62 Power, knowledge and truth ................................................................................................... 63 Interlude: Early years student.................................................................................................. 65 viii School and schooling .............................................................................................................. 66 European influence................................................................................................................. 67 Interlude: Duped by Rousseau!................................................................................................ 70 Power shaping genealogy........................................................................................................ 71 Freedom and power ............................................................................................................... 75 Interlude: Freedom and power ................................................................................................ 78 Emergence of early childhood education ................................................................................. 79 The Great Famine ..................................................................................................................