Building a model of early years professionalism from practitioners’ perspectives

Abstract

Practitioner voice has been absent from debates regarding what constitutes professional behaviour and practice in the early years. This research identifies and uses the professional knowledge of a group of early years educators to create a typology of professionalism. The typology comprises seven inter-related dimensions of early years professionalism: 1) knowledge, 2) qualifications, training and professional development, 3) skills, 4) autonomy, 5) values 6) ethics and 7) rewards. This typology of professionalism was derived during a two-phase study and aims to contribute to ongoing debates about what constitutes professional practice within and across the early years (birth to five years). Phase 1 comprised a sample of 12 early years educators in England, from a range of professional backgrounds, and Phase 2 returned for further reflections to nine of this sample, six years later. They talked about their best work for children and their families and how this developed over time. Their perceptions of children’s needs were at the heart of their professionalism and they interpreted policy and curriculum in ways that they believed met those needs. Their views on professionalism remained constant during both phases of research despite a shifting policy scene in early years.

The professional identity of early years educators in England: implications for a transformative approach to continuing professional development

“…I don't see that you can ever stand still … always something new and if it benefits the children and makes a real difference to them, then I'm happy to go for it. This comment echoes Brock's (2012) findings that EYEs were able to abide by their core values and beliefs whilst implementing policy and prescribed curricula. Sadie and Maria, both experienced teachers, managed to preserve their professional identity and professional practice as they negotiated imposed changes.…”

“…These themes relate well to the literature about professional identity, particularly Brock's (2012) seven dimensions of early years professionalism. Identification of these themes enabled a better conceptualisation of the professional identity of early years practitioners.…”

“…Some of the practitioners also participated in an earlier focus group discussion that was carried out in an informal network meeting. Brock (2012) indicates that a supportive environment is key for stimulating the types of fruitful discussions sought. Interviews took place in a variety of locations according to participants' preferences, including a staffroom, classrooms, an external courtyard and a local café.…”

“…Instead, the researcher (Sarah) was influenced by the work of Nias (1989), who pioneered the use of verbatim interview evidence gathered from a loosely framed set of questions to encourage long, discursive replies. Brock (2012) notes how crucial the researcher role is in this type of study, not only in terms of eliciting a depth of thinking from the participants but also in understanding the context from which the responses are drawn. The researcher's 20 years' experience as a Key Stage 1 and EYFS classroom teacher, including time spent as a school leader, permeates this project in terms of its focus, the methodological choices made, the researcher's interactions with the participants in the study and the sense she made of their responses.…”

Sustainable professional learning for early childhood educators: Lessons from an Australia-wide mental health promotion initiative

“…The research reported in this article was undertaken during a time of sweeping policy and curriculum changes in the early childhood education and care (ECEC) sector in Australia; changes that are similar to reform agendas worldwide, such as in the UK (see Brock, 2012), in Japan (OECD, 2011: 117-120), in China (David, Powell and Goouch, 2010) and in Canada (Howe and Prochner, 2012).…”