Learning conversations and listening pedagogy: the relationship in student teachers’ developing professional identities

Abstract

Recent developments in early childhood education in the UK and other parts of Europe have emphasised the importance of dialogue between adults and children. In the UK, the EPPE project paid particular attention to the role of extended child-centred conversations ('sustained shared thinking ' -Sylva et al. 2003) as an important element or indicator of high quality in the practice of successful early years settings. On the political front, inspired by the practice of the Reggio Emilia pre-schools among others, Dahlberg and Moss (2005) and Rinaldi (2005) advocate a 'listening pedagogy' which pays attention to the concerns and constructs which young children have, rather than imposing institutionally focused goals. How do these twenty-first century insights reflect and relate to the work of Vygotsky (1978) in identifying the ways in which knowledge is developed in young children through dialogue? And how do young teachers incorporate these ideas in a developing teacher identity or 'professionality' (Moriarty 2000)? In this paper I analyse the reported experience of two cohorts of undergraduate teacher trainees in engaging children in preschool settings in 'sustained shared thinking'. This is done using the students' subsequent reflection on the events, using a writing frame. I relate outcomes to issues of legitimate peripheral participation in communities of learning and communities of practice (Lave and Wenger 1991) and discuss the implications for teacher development.RÉSUMÉ: Les développements récents dans l'éducation de la petite enfance au Royaume-Uni et dans d'autres parties de l'Europe ont souligné l'importance du dialogue entre les adultes et les enfants. Au Royaume-Uni, le projet EPPE a accordé une attention particulière au rôle des conversations prolongées centrées sur les enfants ('la pensée partagée soutenue ' -Sylva et al. 2003) comme élément important ou indicateur de qualité dans la pratique des équipements préscolaires. D'un point de vue politique, inspiré par la pratique des structures préscolaires de Reggio Emilia notamment, Dahlberg and Moss (2005) et Rinaldi (2005) plaident pour une 'pédagogie de l'écoute' qui prête attention aux préoccupations et aux idées des jeunes enfants, plutôt que d'imposer des objectifs déterminés institutionnellement. Dans quelle mesure ces conceptions du 21ème siècle renvoient et se rapportent à l'oeuvre de Vygotsky (1978) si l'on identifie les façons dont la connaissance des jeunes enfants se développe dans le dialogue ? Et comment les jeunes professeurs intègrent-ils ces idées en développant leur identité d'enseignant ou leur 'professionnalité' (Moriarty 2000)? Dans cet article, j'analyse l'expérience rapportée par deux cohortes d'enseignants-stagiaires pour engager des enfants de structures préscolaires dans une 'pensée partagée soutenue'. L'analyse s'appuie sur la réflexion ultérieure des étudiants sur ces événements, dans le cadre d'un travail d'écriture. Je relie ces résultats aux questions de la participation périphérique légitime dans les communautés *Email: bridg...

Exploring young children's (mathematical) thinking: preservice teachers reflect on the use of the one-to-one interview

“…(N54) In her study of the reactions of preservice teachers in England to focused small-group or one-to-one interactions with young children, Egan (2009) found similar reactions to that above.…”

“…After the assignments were graded I approached the preservice teachers in the groups that I was teaching and asked them to participate in the research. I was conscious of the power relations at work, so when explaining to them the nature of the research, I emphasised that there would be no negative consequences for them should they decide not to give permission (Egan 2009). About 58 preservice teachers signed the form (59 were invited, but one declined).…”

The role of Higher Education in forming loving early childhood educators in Hungary and England

“…It is also apparent that students do not rate the theoretical aspects of their degrees as highly, but other research has also identified that students can struggle with the connection between theory and practice (Balduzzi 2011;Onnismaa, Tahkokallio, and Kalliala 2015;Karlsson Lohmander 2015). Egan (2009) explores the role of training in developing professional early childhood educators and the need to offer a range of experiences so that students can consider the different forms of knowledge that inform their professionalism, including both theoretical and attitudinal knowledge. Egan discusses the role of reflection in developing professional identities and certainly reflection was mentioned in the survey and in discussions with students.…”

“…Whilst Higher Education (HE) training is often seen as desirable for quality Early Childhood Education (ECE), it is clear that individual countries are still exploring the function of HE in developing quality early childhood educators (e.g. Calder 1999;Egan 2009;Einarsdottir 2013;Jensen 2015). We believe there is a need to look beyond comparisons of qualification structures (Urban et al 2012) in order to have a more considered analysis of the role of HE in developing early childhood educators.…”

Learning Teaching Practices: the Role of Critical Mentoring Conversations in Teacher Education

“…It centred on the development of quality classroom interactions and dialogic pedagogies of PSTs -issues of practical concern for education globally (Collins, 2004;Edwards-Groves & Hoare, 2012;Egan, 2009;Fenimore-Smith, 2004;Grossman, Hammerness, & McDonald, 2009;Woodruff, & Brett, 1999). In fact, classroom talk and developing dialogic teaching practices in classrooms remains a "taken-for-granted" and an under-examined dimension of pre-service teacher education courses (Edwards-Groves & Hoare, 2012).…”