A critical analysis of the National Quality Framework: mobilising for a vision for children beyond minimum standards

The National Quality Framework (NQF) has been heralded by the Australian Government as a significant reform that will raise the quality of early childhood education and care (ECEC) across the country. Drawing on Foucault's (1991) conceptualisation of governmentality this article critically analyses the NQF. From this analysis we conclude that while overall, children in ECEC settings across Australia will be somewhat better off, the NQF nonetheless falls well short of its intended outcomes. Sumsion's (2006) conceptual framework for political activism in the ECEC sector is used to propose one way forward for early childhood advocates and activists to work for policy reform that may more effectively meet the Government's goal of giving children the best possible start in life. Central to our proposal is what we believe is currently lacking in early childhood policy: a bold, innovative vision for children's right to a high-quality early education.