Standing at the door: a sociomaterial approach to understanding parental involvement in ECEC

Abstract

Expectations about parents’ role in their children’s education are changing, and parental involvement has long been one of the central focuses of educational scholars, legislators and policymakers. This paper seeks to take this discussion further by, using the sociomaterial approach to understand parental involvement and, more particularly, how parents’ positions are produced in the early childhood education and care (ECEC) institution. Through ethnographic research, we examine how ECEC policies and everyday practices shape parents’ positions in the ECEC institution. Our findings suggest that parental involvement is not merely a human-centred collaborative act, but a contextual and relational phenomenon. Our data suggest that the relations between parents and educational institutions are shaped by combination of structural factors, social connections and material aspects. Recognising the sociomaterial dimensions of how the parental involvement becomes produced is essential for fostering parental involvement in the actual practices of ECEC. Particular attention should be given to structural constraints, such as tight schedules, rigid routines and institutional norms that may hinder the development of meaningful relations between parents and the ECEC institution.