Pedagogy and Ethics in Early Childhood Education and Care: A Danish Hermeneutic Inquiry

Purpose This article provides an exploration of the internal relationship between ethics and pedagogy in early childhood education and care (ECEC). It aims at a clarification of the interrelationships between political and administrative government, the absence/presence of a pedagogical foundation, and the need for a code of ethics. Design/Approach/Methods The overall approach is hermeneutic and combines interpretations of a narrative research project, a review of recent developments in ECEC in Denmark, and the search for a theoretical conceptualization of a pedagogical foundation for ECEC. Findings ECEC as a pedagogical practice needs a pedagogical foundation. If a foundation is vivid and a clear reference for practice, a separate code of ethical conduct might be superfluous. Nevertheless, such a code can be indispensable if ECEC governance is outcome-oriented and reduces practice to technique. Originality/Value The study includes a discussion of the central European tradition for human science pedagogy and argues for the relevance of insights from this tradition in pedagogical foundations for ECEC. The study combines an empirical study of knowledge at play in ECEC and of specific developments in Danish ECEC with original philosophical, pedagogical, and conceptual reflections and results in a more precise indication of the relationship between ECEC government, pedagogy, and ethics.