Between market and mission : early childhood education and care in the context of commodification and market practices

english

2026

volume 77, issue 1

market conditions   preschool pedagogy   private education   private kindergartens

Zveza društev pedagoških delavcev Slovenije
(Obvezni izvod spletne publikacije)

An educational institution’s mission is vital for creating shared understanding and guiding pedagogical practice. Grounded in democratic and humanistic values, the mission shapes pedagogical approaches, organisational culture and relationships within the institution. Privately founded early childhood education and care (ECEC) institutions often struggle to align such missions with market pressures. As such institutions operate outside the public funding system, they must balance visibility, competitiveness and parental expectations while safeguarding their pedagogical integrity. This study examined how directors of private ECEC institutions in Croatia define and communicate their pedagogical missions and adapt their institutional goals amid external demands. Grounded in critical theory and informed by Goffman’s framework of impression management, the work conducted a qualitative thematic analysis of structured written interviews. Its findings show that the interviewed directors not only manage institutions but also construct public narratives shaped by neoliberal expectations of visibility and differentiation while striving to preserve pedagogical values. Aware of systemic inequalities, directors employ balancing as a conscious strategy to sustain professional integrity and children’s well-being, identifying pedagogical values – not market logic – as their moral compass. The study’s limitations include the constraints of written interviews and its reliance on thematic coding, which may overlook several linguistic nuances.

11.05.2026