Kultura (ne)talasanja: o reprodukcijskoj funkciji kolegijalnih odnosa u ustanovama ranoga i predškolskoga odgoja i obrazovanja
Rock the boat, or not. On the reproductive function of collegial relationships in early-childhood and pre-school education institutions

Summary/Abstract: This paper aims at analysing the challenges of the reproductive function of the culture of (non-) conformity in early-childhood and pre-school education. Thereby, we mean quasi-collaborative relationships in which the often bogus collective harmony, non-questioning the actions of colleagues, avoiding conflicts, and economical time management are put in the forefront. In the introductory part, we analyse the potential of critical pedagogy as framework for considering the field of early-childhood and pre-school education. We moreover tackle different types of the operationalisation of cooperation, collegiality, and conflict in educational institutions, and offer an overview of empirical research pointing at the potential and the limitations of practicing different types of interpersonal relationships within them. In the central part of the paper, we reflect on the contextual determinants of the culture of (non-) conformity, specifically found in early-childhood and pre-school education institutions. There is an emphasis on the increasingly pronounced trend of their professionalization and the parallel process of their schoolification, as well as the gender-related dimension of the system. In the concluding part, we outline three main points of reflection: the polarity of focusing on short-term or long-term objectives of collective action; prioritizing personal or collective interests; and distinguishing between functional and dysfunctional conflicts in professional relations.

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