Abstract:
This book is a culmination of my studies in Ricoeurean hermeneutics and its possibilities for education. It is an original study bringing together for the first time the philosophy of Ricoeur and understandings of narrative identity in early childhood policy and practice. The book argues the shortcomings of current policy in early childhood education, and explores some possibilities in Ricoeurean hermeneutics for the development of an educational perspective that promotes dialogue and difference. Professor Helen May (University of Otago) wrote that: ‘Sandy Farquhar brings a fresh, intense and challenging lens to New Zealand's early childhood pedagogy and policy: that of philosophy. As the paradigm of early childhood shifts even further from its developmental roots where it emerged, this book will become an important tool towards engaging the profession in such a mind change’. The book was published internationally by Rowman and Littlefield in their Critical Education Policy and Politics series.