'The Centre is My Business': neo-liberal politics, privatisation and discourses of professionalism in New Zealand

Over the past decade, professionalism has become a keyword in early childhood education in New Zealand. The emphasis on 'professionalism' in education often refers to increased accountability and outcome-focused approaches to teaching. The push to managerial performativity as a new hallmark of professionalism has led to arguments that warn of a 'deprofessionalisation' of teachers as an effect of neo-liberal education reform. This article argues that discourses of professionalism in neo-liberal times and places are multifaceted and more complex than the 'deprofessionalism' argument indicates. Instead of reinscribing neo-liberalism as a monolithic entity which produces one particular type of professionalism only, the article proposes to look closely at what kind of professionalism is enacted in particular places. The article focuses on two 'professionalisms' one in a corporate context, the other one in a small, private centre - to highlight the coexistence of different articulations and enactments of 'neo-liberal professionalism' in early childhood education.