Speaking of children’s needs: The tricky terrain between preschool policy and practice

Abstract

This article presents a way of understanding the concept of children’s needs in preschool as a differentiating practice in the tension between special and general education where performative acts take place. Drawing on ideas of Foucault and Butler, the article examines official discourse regarding children’s needs represented at a policy level in the Swedish preschool curriculum with its inclusive ideals. That discourse is shown to give rise to problems in relation to everyday preschool practice, which is seen as filled with dilemmas. These dilemmas concern questions about fulfilling the mission of a preschool for all as well as for every child, and include an understanding of how children’s needs are negotiated in relation to equality, fairness and the resources available.