A Fine Balance: Understanding the Roles Educators and Children Play as Intentional Teachers and Intentional Learners within theEarly Years Learning Framework

Abstract

THE AUSTRALIAN EARLY YEARS LEARNING FRAMEWORK (EYLF) has foregrounded intentional teaching as one aspect of its first national curriculum, thus sparking a debate about the relationship of play-based learning and the role of the early childhood educator. This paper draws upon current research with early childhood practitioners and their emerging identities as intentional teachers. Central to practitioners' struggles is navigating relationships between intentionality, required documentation in the form of outcomes, and the different approaches encountered during outdoor and indoor environments. This paper analyses tensions between the construction of curriculum and the role of educators. It argues that a focus on intentional learning, as well as intentional teaching, will create a more effective treatment of the teaching/learning nexus.