Politics, the Provision of Physical Amenities, and the ‘Push-Down’ Curriculum

Abstract

Early childhood practitioners may like to think that politics has nothing to do with their work, but the analysis of the effects of educational reform shows that politics and education are linked inextricably. This paper discusses recent education reform in Western Australia and links it to the provision of physical amenities in early childhood settings and the prevalent push-down’ curriculum that makes early childhood programs look like traditional primary school classrooms. Practitioners are asked to consider whose interests they are furthering when their programs embody primary school pedagogy: it is unlikely that the answer will include the young children they serve.