title: Heteronormativity and early childhood education: Social justice and some puzzling queries.

authors: Gunn, Alexandra Claire

subjects: Early childhood education

abstract: This thesis investigated the discursive production of heteronormativity in the  historical and present day contexts of early childhood education in Aotearoa New Zealand.  A Foucauldian genealogical investigation of early childhood policy and documents revealed how heteronormative discourses shaped understandings in early childhood education in the twentieth century.  Then a study of practices as accounted for and produced in focus group interviews showed how heteronormative discourses were confirmed and resisted in the present day.  
 
The thesis argues that the locus of heteronormativity in early childhood education centres on constructions of the family, of genders and of sexualities.  It sought to investigate whether heteronormative discourses were shaping practices in early childhood education, and if so how.  Following the writing of a genealogy of heteronormativity in early childhood education, the fieldwork of the study entailed three rounds of focus group interviews with queer teacher, queer ally and teacher educator participants.  Discussions in the interviews were provoked by dilemmas of heterosexism, homophobia and heteronormativity in early childhood settings.  Participants were asked to talk about what they thought was occurring in the dilemmas and they were also asked to share examples of practices from their own professional lives where same-sex sexualities had been troubled or affirmed. 
 
The texts produced from the focus group interviews were read the same way as the historical and policy and documents.  Foucault's discourse analysis combined with questions from Davies' (1994) study of teaching practices, and queer theory provided a theoretical framework through which I was able to explore relations between constructions of genders, families, and sexualities; concepts of insiders and outsiders; and notions of power.  A queer turn in the project enlarged the focus of the study to investigate how heteronormative discourse might have been shaping the research interviews too.  A discourse of silence along with a discourse of risk was interpreted as contributing to heteronormativity in this work.  A strategy designed to assist teachers to interrupt heteronormativity was explored.  It allowed teachers to bring together ideas and concepts that would constitute families and parents in ways inclusive of and broader to the (hetero)norm.  
 
In the study, teachers, children and parents were shown to draw on (hetero)normalising discourses in their interactions with each other in early childhood education.  Such activity limited opportunities for valid alternative options to heterosexuality to be known.  This meant that heterosexuality was repeatedly constituted as dominant and normative, thus supporting heteronormativity.  Constructions of genders, families and sexualities in the study were regularly shaped by traditional and essentialising discourses that positioned heterosexual sexuality as normal and non-heterosexual sexualities as not.  These in combination with other discourses, such as a discourse of developmentalism, provided few opportunities for non-heterosexual sexualities to be recognised, valued and included in early childhood education. The extent to which socially just and inclusive policy aims in early childhood education might therefore be met in practice, could be seriously questioned.  
 
However, examples of practices that worked to expand opportunities for the recognition of diverse families and sexualities in early childhood education were also documented.  These provided evidence that some teachers, parents and children in some circumstances can and do access and use discourses of social justice, family and sexual diversity, inclusion and human rights.  Sustained access to these was not documented, in fact, discourses of social justice, family and sexual diversity, and inclusion were often immediately countered by limiting and (hetero)normalising responses.  The thesis concludes with suggestions as to how such processes might be explored and challenged so that more teachers, more children, more families can enjoy recognition and welcome in early childhood education settings designed to include.

text: Heteronormativity and early childhood education: Social justice and some puzzling queries. This thesis investigated the discursive production of heteronormativity in the  historical and present day contexts of early childhood education in Aotearoa New Zealand.  A Foucauldian genealogical investigation of early childhood policy and documents revealed how heteronormative discourses shaped understandings in early childhood education in the twentieth century.  Then a study of practices as accounted for and produced in focus group interviews showed how heteronormative discourses were confirmed and resisted in the present day.  
 
The thesis argues that the locus of heteronormativity in early childhood education centres on constructions of the family, of genders and of sexualities.  It sought to investigate whether heteronormative discourses were shaping practices in early childhood education, and if so how.  Following the writing of a genealogy of heteronormativity in early childhood education, the fieldwork of the study entailed three rounds of focus group interviews with queer teacher, queer ally and teacher educator participants.  Discussions in the interviews were provoked by dilemmas of heterosexism, homophobia and heteronormativity in early childhood settings.  Participants were asked to talk about what they thought was occurring in the dilemmas and they were also asked to share examples of practices from their own professional lives where same-sex sexualities had been troubled or affirmed. 
 
The texts produced from the focus group interviews were read the same way as the historical and policy and documents.  Foucault's discourse analysis combined with questions from Davies' (1994) study of teaching practices, and queer theory provided a theoretical framework through which I was able to explore relations between constructions of genders, families, and sexualities; concepts of insiders and outsiders; and notions of power.  A queer turn in the project enlarged the focus of the study to investigate how heteronormative discourse might have been shaping the research interviews too.  A discourse of silence along with a discourse of risk was interpreted as contributing to heteronormativity in this work.  A strategy designed to assist teachers to interrupt heteronormativity was explored.  It allowed teachers to bring together ideas and concepts that would constitute families and parents in ways inclusive of and broader to the (hetero)norm.  
 
In the study, teachers, children and parents were shown to draw on (hetero)normalising discourses in their interactions with each other in early childhood education.  Such activity limited opportunities for valid alternative options to heterosexuality to be known.  This meant that heterosexuality was repeatedly constituted as dominant and normative, thus supporting heteronormativity.  Constructions of genders, families and sexualities in the study were regularly shaped by traditional and essentialising discourses that positioned heterosexual sexuality as normal and non-heterosexual sexualities as not.  These in combination with other discourses, such as a discourse of developmentalism, provided few opportunities for non-heterosexual sexualities to be recognised, valued and included in early childhood education. The extent to which socially just and inclusive policy aims in early childhood education might therefore be met in practice, could be seriously questioned.  
 
However, examples of practices that worked to expand opportunities for the recognition of diverse families and sexualities in early childhood education were also documented.  These provided evidence that some teachers, parents and children in some circumstances can and do access and use discourses of social justice, family and sexual diversity, inclusion and human rights.  Sustained access to these was not documented, in fact, discourses of social justice, family and sexual diversity, and inclusion were often immediately countered by limiting and (hetero)normalising responses.  The thesis concludes with suggestions as to how such processes might be explored and challenged so that more teachers, more children, more families can enjoy recognition and welcome in early childhood education settings designed to include.

year: 2008

title: Z logic and its consequences

authors: Henson, Martin C.

subjects: Z  Logic

abstract: This paper provides an introduction to the specification language Z from a logical perspective. The possibility of presenting Z in this way is a consequence of a number of joint publications on Z logic that Henson and Reeves have co-written since 1997. We provide an information as well as formal introduction to Z logic and show how it may be used, and extended, to investigate issues such as equational logic, the logic of preconditions, the issue of monotonicity and both operation and data refinement.

text: Z logic and its consequences This paper provides an introduction to the specification language Z from a logical perspective. The possibility of presenting Z in this way is a consequence of a number of joint publications on Z logic that Henson and Reeves have co-written since 1997. We provide an information as well as formal introduction to Z logic and show how it may be used, and extended, to investigate issues such as equational logic, the logic of preconditions, the issue of monotonicity and both operation and data refinement.

year: 2003-06

title: What do we know about the intersection of being blind and being Māori in Aotearoa New Zealand? Taking an applied community psychology approach to a systematic review of the published literature

authors: Graham, Rebekah Sarah

subjects: Disability

abstract: Self-determination and dignity are guaranteed rights for disabled persons under the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. However, such rights have been slow to eventuate for Maori (Indigenous people of Aotearoa New Zealand). This paper brings together systematic fashion publications that currently exist regarding blindness and Maori, centring throughout Maori understandings of disability and blindness. We employed a structured approach alongside PRISMA protocols and reflexive dialogue. Included publications were quantitative data reviews, surveys, qualitative studies, literature reviews, and works of fiction. For our analysis, we formulated a matrix that drew from Kaupapa Maori, applied community psychology, and disability rights literature. This meant we made explicit where research practices included—and excluded—self-determination, democratic participation, and inclusion of both disabled and Maori. Our review highlights inconsistency across disciplines regarding self-determination and democratic participation by both Maori and disabled key stakeholders. Our approach can be utilised across disciplines as a tool for considering the ways in which researchers uphold Indigenous self-determination, disability rights, and data sovereignty. Please refer to the Supplementary Material section to find this article's Community and Social Impact Statement.

text: What do we know about the intersection of being blind and being Māori in Aotearoa New Zealand? Taking an applied community psychology approach to a systematic review of the published literature Self-determination and dignity are guaranteed rights for disabled persons under the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. However, such rights have been slow to eventuate for Maori (Indigenous people of Aotearoa New Zealand). This paper brings together systematic fashion publications that currently exist regarding blindness and Maori, centring throughout Maori understandings of disability and blindness. We employed a structured approach alongside PRISMA protocols and reflexive dialogue. Included publications were quantitative data reviews, surveys, qualitative studies, literature reviews, and works of fiction. For our analysis, we formulated a matrix that drew from Kaupapa Maori, applied community psychology, and disability rights literature. This meant we made explicit where research practices included—and excluded—self-determination, democratic participation, and inclusion of both disabled and Maori. Our review highlights inconsistency across disciplines regarding self-determination and democratic participation by both Maori and disabled key stakeholders. Our approach can be utilised across disciplines as a tool for considering the ways in which researchers uphold Indigenous self-determination, disability rights, and data sovereignty. Please refer to the Supplementary Material section to find this article's Community and Social Impact Statement.

year: 2023