Emeritus Professor Peter Moss presents 'Early childhood education and the crisis of neoliberalism'

Emeritus Professor Peter Moss gives a talk titled ‘Early childhood education and the crisis of neoliberalism: The search for new narratives’ to Norland staff and students.

On 14 February, Peter Moss, Emeritus Professor of Early Childhood Provision at the Thomas Coram Research Unit at IOE – Faculty of Education and Society, UCL gave a talk on his recent work in early childhood education as part of Norland’s research webinar series, which brings early years experts to Norland to share and discuss their research with staff and students.

The seminar combined two themes from Professor Moss’ recent work: the importance of storytelling and narratives in how early childhood education is understood and enacted; and the strong influence of neoliberalism on early childhood education in England (and beyond). Professor Moss discussed neoliberalism and its impact on education in general and early childhood education in particular through the dominant story in the Anglophone world, the Story of Quality and High Returns. Professor Moss concluded his presentation by arguing that neoliberalism, though powerful, is resistible and replaceable, and called for transformative change, including new ideas, new policies – and new stories about early childhood education.

Professor Moss’ research interests include: the workforce in children’s services; the relationship between care, gender and employment; social pedagogy; and democratic practice in children’s services.

Find out more about Professor Moss’ research in his latest books:

Early Childhood in the Anglosphere (co-authored with Linda Mitchell, 2024, UCL Press)

Neoliberalism and Early Childhood Education (co-authored with Guy Roberts-Holmes, 2021, Routledge)

Transforming Early Childhood in England (co-edited with Claire Cameron, 2020, UCL Press)