| Abstract: | Within the texts from the 1992 National Kindergarten Teachers' Collective Employment Contract Negotiations, using Foucault's interpretation of 'discourse', dominant discourses were identified. Two of these discourses illustrate the gendered nature of the position of kindergarten teachers in New Zealand, which I have called 'Children First' and 'For the Sake of the Children'. These discourses can be seen to be used tactically to affect the outcomes of the negotiations, and have 'their' view accepted as 'reality'. Each sited teachers in a powerless position for negotiating wages and working conditions, but presented different possibilities outside of the negotiating setting. This paper addresses these two discourses, which most clearly illustrated the gendered nature of the position of New Zealand kindergarten teachers. |
