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Beyond Heteronormativity: Hospitality as Curriculum

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Comparative Early Childhood Education Services

Part of the book series: Critical Cultural Studies of Childhood ((CCSC))

Abstract

This chapter examines ideas about hospitality for all in Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) in Aotearoa New Zealand. ECEC has a unique relationship with hospitality through te ao Māori (the Māori [indigenous New Zealander] world view) and manaakitanga (looking after people). Although Te Whāriki, Aotearoa New Zealand’s early childhood education curriculum (Ministry of Education, 1996), espouses a kaupapa (philosophy) of welcome through the Whānau Tangata Principle (Family and Community), most ECEC envi-ronments tend to be heteronormative (Gunn & Surtees, 2004). Heterosexuality is therefore pervasively established as the only option for adult sexual and life partnerships. Research suggests that, for those who are Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer/Questioning (LGBTQ), hospitality in educational settings can be in short supply (Allen & Elliot, 2008). In 2006, I conducted a study of the experiences of a group of gay mothers in a range of ECEC centers. In this chapter I argue that, despite the heteronormative1 nature of ECEC settings (see Gunn & Surtees, 2004; Robinson, 2005), some teachers demonstrated an authentic hospitality to these families.

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Notes

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Authors
  1. Debora Lee
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. School of Māori, Social and Cultural Studies in Education, University of Canterbury College of Education, Christchurch, New Zealand

    Judith Duncan (Associate Professor in Education) (Associate Professor in Education)

  2. Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand

    Sarah Te One (Lecturer) (Lecturer)

Copyright information

© 2012 Judith Duncan and Sarah Te One

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Lee, D. (2012). Beyond Heteronormativity: Hospitality as Curriculum. In: Duncan, J., One, S.T. (eds) Comparative Early Childhood Education Services. Critical Cultural Studies of Childhood. Palgrave Macmillan, New York. https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137016782_7

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