The concept of the dispositive: Methodological pathways to critical educational research

Abstract

This paper aims to use the Foucauldian concept of the dispositive as a methodological pathway to critical educational research. Throughout the paper, I consider the concept as a passage through which to extract and dwell upon the discursive configurations and reconfigurations of epistemic conditions regarding kindergarten teachers’ professionalism. In an ongoing study, I contribute to critical research on the increasing demand for mapping children’s skills in contemporary kindergartens by exploring the nuances of kindergarten teachers’ knowledge, judgment and practice. The concept of the dispositive constructs a pathway for centring attention on the interplay between bodies and power technologies. I have further chosen to connect this to processes of how kindergarten teachers are made subjects in space and time. Through my choice of foci and methodology, I theorise and problematise regarding how these ensembles intertwine in a play of knowledge/power in the context of the kindergarten as a modern welfare institution.