Background: In 1994, the African National Congress identified early childhood development as a potential strategy to redress the inequalities of apartheid, however, two and a half decades later, poverty still persists, and South Africa is one of the most unequal countries in the world. Aim: This article explores how policy texts based on and with the use of certain data practices establish ‘truths’ about childhoods and society, construct families and communities, and determine forms of provision to address inequality. Setting: In 2015, the South African government published the National Integrated Early Childhood Policy (NIECDP) to continue to address poverty and inequality. Its implementation increasingly draws on data practices that measure and inform solutions. The use of data practices, while also providing needed information, prioritises solutions that proceed in technocratic ways instead of facilitating social change. Methods: With a critical discourse analysis of policy texts and the introduction of alternatives, the analysis seeks to highlight the power and knowledge hierarchies that construct the policies of NIECDP. Results: This article demonstrates how discourses and data practices prioritise ‘the government of poverty’ instead of helping to eliminate it and silence the voices of those living with poverty. This form of government through data also undermines the policy’s potential to respond to the different life chances resulting from the diverse conditions in which young children live in South Africa. Conclusion: This article seeks to re-open a debate that the NIECDP successfully silenced, specifically who benefits, who speaks and who is silenced.

中文翻译：

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南非幼儿发展政策中的数据做法和不平等：技术官僚管理与社会转型

背景：1994年，非洲人国民大会将幼儿发展确定为解决种族隔离不平等的潜在策略，但是，在二十五年半之后，贫困仍然持续存在，南非是世界上最不平等的国家之一。目的：本文探讨基于和使用某些数据实践的政策文本如何建立有关童年和社会的“真相”，构建家庭和社区，以及确定解决不平等现象的准备形式。背景：2015年，南非政府发布了《国家综合早期儿童政策》（NIECDP），以继续解决贫困和不平等问题。它的实施越来越多地利用可衡量和提供解决方案的数据实践。在使用数据惯例的同时，还提供了所需的信息，优先考虑以技术官僚的方式进行的解决方案，而不是促进社会变革。方法：通过对政策文本进行批判性话语分析并引入替代方案，该分析旨在强调构建NIECDP政策的权力和知识层次。结果：本文证明了话语和数据实践如何将“贫困政府”置于优先地位，而不是帮助消除贫困政府并使沉默的人保持沉默。通过数据的这种形式的政府还破坏了该政策应对因南非幼童生活条件多种多样而带来的不同生活机会的潜力。结论：本文旨在重新讨论NIECDP成功沉默的问题，特别是谁受益，谁讲话，谁沉默。