Equal Education in Early Childhood Services

Discover the ninth session of the 2025–2026 seminar series "Crossed Perspectives on Early Childhood": "Egalitarian education in early childhood services in the Wallonia-Brussels Federation (FW-B, Belgium). An approach at the crossroads of educational sciences and anthropology".

The seminar will be held in French.

The seminar approaches early childhood as a social, historical, and cultural construct. Knowledge and theories relating to conception, birth, and child development are analysed in terms of the child’s interactions with their surroundings and according to gender norms. The seminar also explores the boundaries of this age category and its temporality, according to medical, international, anthropological, and historical standards.

Based on research entitled Early Childhood and Gender Challenges in an Intercultural Context (Pirard & Razy, eds. 2024), this presentation focuses on the "non-sexist" (Constantin-Bienaimé, 2014) or "egalitarian" (Braeuner, 2014) educational approach in an intercultural context. At a time of diversification of educational models and growing concern for the promotion of gender equality and individual self-determination, what about early childhood? How do these issues arise more specifically in early childhood services in the Wallonia-Brussels Federation (Belgium)? Contrary to the literature, which mainly addresses this issue from the point of entry into school, this presentation will show the value of taking an interdisciplinary approach (anthropology and education sciences) to the relational issues of this egalitarian approach among all the actors involved (professionals, parents, children) based on a cross-analysis of reported or experienced everyday situations.

• Florence Pirard: RUCHE, University of Liège
• Élodie Razy : IRSS-LASC, University of Liège
• Discussant: Charles-Édouard de Suremain: Anthropologist, IRD