Call for Papers - Innovative Professional Learning in Early Childhood Education and Care: Inspiring Hope and Action

Call for Papers - Innovative Professional Learning in Early Childhood Education and Care: Inspiring Hope and Action

Let's put a national child care strategy back on the agenda

Pathways to Professionalism in Early Childhood Education and Care is concerned with a growing interest from policy and research in the professionalisation of the early childhood workforce. Illustrated by in-depth case studies of innovative and sustainable pathways to professionalisation, it recognises the importance of a systemic approach to professionalisation across all levels of the early childhood. The authors of this wide-ranging book share insights of professionalism from various European countries and suggest that professionalism in early childhood unfolds best in a 'competent system'. This book considers a broad range of international issues including * Continuous professional support and quality * Early Childhood education and care staff with different qualifications in professional development processes. * How personal attitudes and competence of educators are related to the wider system of competent teams, leadership, collaboration across services and competent governance * From research to policy: the case of early childhood and care Pathways to Professionalism in Early Childhood Education and Care is a crucial and fascinating read for professionals working in the sector and contributes to broadening views on what professionalism in early childhood can mean within a 'competent system'.

This paper reports the findings of a study that aimed to identify the music beliefs and values of educators in early childhood education and care settings in Australia. The aims of the study were 2-fold: to adapt and pilot a survey of music beliefs and values which might be implemented subsequently nationally in childcare settings; and, secondly, to identify the music beliefs and values held by early childhood and care educators concerning music in children's learning. The research questions that guided this component of the study were: What is the profile of early childhood and care educators? What beliefs and values for music engagement are held by early childhood and care educators? What shapes early childhood and care educators' music beliefs and values? Findings indicated that educators' beliefs and values on all items are above the mid-point indicating overall positive attitudes toward music despite the majority having no formal qualifications in music or a history of instrumental performance and/or singing. Given the overall positive attitudes toward music we suggest there is enormous potential within this population for further professional learning and development targeted at music and its potential wider benefits in young children's learning and lives.

Early childhood education as the main foundation of one's education is determined by the quality of teachers who can be seen through the performance of teachers and teachers, so the discourse of professional development is important. This study aims to determine how the performance of superior early childhood teachers and performance measurement as performance standards for outstanding teachers. Qualitative research is carried out with a psychological approach that is carried out directly on the object under study, to obtain data relating to aspects of teacher performance so that increased performance becomes an example for other teachers. Research data collection techniques using interviews, documentation, and observation. The results showed that the performance of outstanding early childhood teachers always tried to hone and control themselves by participating in outstanding teacher competitions to monitor their professional condition and performance. Early childhood teachers who have extraordinary grades also have strong scientific insight, understand learning, have broad social insights, are positive about their work, and show work performance according to the required performance criteria. The teacher's performance in the extraordinary category is the success and ability of the teacher in carrying out various learning tasks. Measuring the performance of early childhood teachers with achievement has two tasks as measurement standards, tasks related to the learning process and tasks related to structuring and planning learning tasks. Referring to these two tasks, there are three main criteria related to teacher performance in early childhood teacher professional development literacy, namely processes, teacher characteristics, and outcomes or products (changes in student attitudes). In the learning process, the performance of early childhood teachers who excel can be seen from the quality of work carried out related to professional teacher learning activities.
 Keywords: Early Childhood Education, Outstanding Educator Performance, Professional Development

This paper aims to investigate the relationship between participative approaches and knowledge construction by showing in what ways community engagement in academic research can inform the design and development of professional learning resources. Mentor teachers play a key role in supporting pre-service teachers’ learning and development in the context of Initial Teacher Education practicum. While the complexity of this role is highlighted in the literature, teachers are rarely provided with the opportunity to engage in professional learning to support their mentoring practice. We engaged with a group of Early Childhood Education and Care professionals and pre-service teachers to identify mentor teachers’ professional learning needs and design, develop and deliver a range of training resources to support mentoring practice. Our research marks a shift from the traditionally top-down approach to developing Initial Teacher Education programs, towards shared leadership where university academics’ and education professionals’ expertise are positioned on an equal footing. Semi-structured interviews first gathered data on the challenges and strengths of the practicum experience from both mentors and pre-service teachers. This data informed the design and development of resources that were further reviewed and refined through iterative loops of feedback. These dynamic processes of information sharing resulted in a layering of knowledges that led to the creation of genuinely contextual professional learning resources. Given the crucial importance of Early Childhood Education and Care in relation to children’s learning and development, the value of participative methodologies in professional learning as well as the critical role played by mentors in quality initial teacher training, there is a critical lack of research on the topic in the Early Childhood Education literature. This study makes an essential contribution to understanding how Early Childhood Education and Care community engagement can better equip educators and institutions to provide high-quality early childhood education.

Volume I :Preface Acknowledgments Introduction Guide to Related Topics Abecedarian Program Academics Accreditation of Early Childhood Programs Act for Better Child Care (ABC) Action Research Addams, Jane (1860-1935) Adoption Advocacy and Leadership in Early Childhood Education Almy, Millie (1915-2001) American Associate Degree Early Childhood Educators (ACCESS) Ashton-Warner, Sylvia (1908-1984) Assessment in Early Childhood Assessment, Visual Art Association for Childhood Education International (ACEI) Association for Constructivist Teaching (ACT) Attachment Attention Deficit Disorder/Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADD/ADHD) Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) Autism Bandura, Albert (1925- ) Bank Street Behaviorism Behavior Management and Guidance Biculturalism Bilingual Education Binet, Alfred (1857-1911) Black Caucus (NAEYC) Blow, Susan Elizabeth (1843-1916) Bowlby, John (1907-1990) Brain Development Bronfenbrenner, Urie (1917-2005) Bruner, Jerome (1915- ) Bullying Center for the Child Care Workforce (CCW) Cerebral Palsy (CP) Child Abuse and Neglect Child Abuse and Neglect, Prevention of Child Art Child Care Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF) Child Care and Early Education Research Connections Child Care Subsidies and Tax Provisions Child Development Associate (CDA) National Credentialing Program Child Development Group of Mississippi (CDGM) Childrens Defense Fund (CDF) Childrens Media Childrens Museums Child Study Movement Classroom Discourse Classroom Environments Cognitive Development Comenius, John Amos (1592-1670) Computer and Video Game Play in Early Childhood Constructionism Constructivism Contemporary Issues in Early Childhood Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) (1989) Council for Exceptional Children (CEC) The Creative Curriculum for Preschool Culture Curriculum Curriculum, Emotional Development Curriculum, Mathematics Curriculum, Music Curriculum, Physical Development Curriculum, Science Curriculum, Social Studies Curriculum, Visual Art Day Nurseries Deaf Children Development, Emotional Development, Language Development, Moral Development, Psychosocial Theory of Development, Social Developmental Delay Developmental Disorders of Infancy and Early Childhood, A Taxonomy of Developmental-Interaction Approach Developmentally Appropriate Practice(s) (DAP) Developmental Systems Theories Dewey, John (1859-1952) Direct Instruction Model Disabilities, Young Children with Division for Early Childhood (DEC) Documentation Domestic Violence Down Syndrome Volume II :Early Care and Education Programs, Administration of Early Child Development and Care Early Childhood Education Journal (ECEJ) Early Childhood Environment Rating Scales (ERS) Early Childhood Music Education Commission (ECME) Early Childhood Research & Practice (ECRP) Early Childhood Research Quarterly (ECRQ) Early Childhood Special Education (ECSE) Early Head Start Early Intervention Early Years: An International Journal of Research and Development Ecology of Human Development Education 3-13 Eliot, Abigail Adams (1892-1992) Emergent Curriculum Environmental Assessments in Early Childhood Education Erikson, Erik H. (1902-1994) European Early Childhood Education Research Journal (EECERJ) Even Start Exchange Families Family Literacy Family Systems Theory (FST) Fathers Feminism in Early Childhood Education Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS) Frank, Lawrence Kelso (1890-1968) Freud, Anna (1895-1982) Freud, Sigmund (1856-1939) Froebel, Friedrich (1782-1852) Gay or Lesbian Parents, Children with Gender and Gender Stereotyping in Early Childhood Education Gesell, Arnold (1880-1961) Gifted and Talented Children in the United States Good Start, Grow Smart Gordon, Ira J. (1923-1978) Grade Retention Grouping Hailmann, Eudora Lucas (18351904) Hailmann, William Nicholas (1836-1920) Hall, G(ranville) Stanley (1844-1924) Hawkins, David (1913-2002) and Hawkins, Frances Pockman (1913- ) Head Start High/Scope High/Scope Perry Preschool Study Hill, Patty Smith (1868-1946) History of U.S. Early Childhood Care and Education Hunt, Joseph McVicker (1906-1991) Hymes, James L., Jr. (1913-1998) IEA Preprimary Project Immigration Incarcerated Parents, Children of Inclusion Individualized Education Plan (IEP) Individualized Family Service Plan (IFSP) Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) Infant Care Intelligence Intelligence Quotient (IQ) Intelligence Testing Interagency Education Research Initiative (IERI) International Journal of Early Childhood (IJEC) International Journal of Early Years Education International Journal of Special Education International Kindergarten Union (IKU) International Reading Association (IRA) Isaacs, Susan (1885-1948) Journal of Early Childhood Research Journal of Early Childhood Teacher Education (JECTE) Journal of Early Inte

The professionalism of early childhood teachers has been the subject of increasing attention globally for over a decade (Moss in Contemporary Issues in Early Childhood, 7(1), 30–41 2006; Osgood Narratives from the nursery: Negotiating professional identities in early childhood. Oxon, UK: Routledge 2012; Urban in Professionalism in early childhood education and care: International perspectives. Oxon, UK: Routledge 2010). While understandings of professionalism have often been harnessed to discourses of quality in early childhood research literature (Urban in Quality, autonomy and the profession: Questions of quality. Dublin, Ireland: Centre for Early Childhood Development and Education 2004; Penn Quality in early childhood services: An international perspective. Berkshire, UK: Open University Press 2011), there has also been increasing attention to the ways discourses (based on the work of French philosopher Michel Foucault) produce understandings of being professional, becoming professional and constructing professionalism. Foucault (The archaeology of knowledge (A. M. Sheridan Smith Trans.). London, UK: Routledge 1972/1989) conceptualised discourses as ways of speaking, thinking or understanding that come to be accepted as truths. This means that discourses regulate possibilities for what can be spoken, thought or understood.

This article presents a vision of professional learning specific to the early childhood sector. To do this, we draw on interviews with 40 Froebelian-inspired early childhood leaders from around the world. Our findings are presented as follows: (1) Professional learning is continuous, and continuous learning is enabled by time; (2) Professional learning involves reflection, and reflection is prompted by playful and critical connection; and (3) Professional learning takes place in community with others, and learning in community is enabled by cherishing differences and supporting agency. We offer this vision as a starting place for collaborative dialogues focused on generating dynamic models of professional learning that are responsive to the nuances of the global early childhood sector.

Professional learning is considered essential for early childhood teachers, and is frequently associated with childhood outcomes and dominant constructs of quality which perpetuate neoliberal ideals and position early childhood teachers within a framework of rationality, privileging discourses of masculinity and power. By engaging with feminist new materialist perspectives, with the concept of ‘movement’, and with the theory-practice of the educational project of the city of Reggio Emilia, Italy, this paper extends understandings of professional learning to include nonhuman others as worthy interlocutors, and puts forth an invitation to welcome unease and an aesthetic-ethical-political stance in early childhood education. To complicate normative conceptions of professional learning, fragments from a project that used pedagogical documentation and dialogue to transform children’s relations with waste are presented. These fragments elucidate how professional learning in early childhood education might be aesthetically-ethically-politically conceptually grounded and practiced. The conclusions presented are neither simple nor linear; rather invitations are offered to problematise, to avoid being satisfied with overt, dominant and linear constructs, and to welcome uncertainty in worldly relations.

Across the Asia Pacific region (indeed, on a global scale), formalised provision of early childhood care and education has expanded exponentially during the past two to three decades. Through its history, formalised early childhood care has served a range of purposes, from providing care for young children while their parents work, to being a site for religious ministry. In the twenty first century, the field is driven primarily by growing acknowledgment of the important role of early childhood services in supporting young children’s growth and development and, in turn, shaping the development of healthy societies. This is reflected in messages regarding both the economic benefits of investing in early childhood and the costs of failing to do so (e.g. Heckman and Masterov, The productivity argument for investing in young children.Chicago: Invest in Kids Working Group, Committee for Economic Development, 2004; Rao and Jin, Early childhood care and education in the Asia Pacific region: Moving towards goal 1. UNESCO, 2010; Neuman and Bennett, Starting strong: Early childhood education and care. Paris: OECD. 2001) and powerful rhetoric from International Non-Government agencies (INGO’s) that urges countries to invest inexpanding access to early education opportunities (e.g. UNESCO’s Education For All initiative; Baba and Puamau, Journal of Educational Studies, 21, 31–50, 1999). Related to these, the international Education for All (EFA) agenda (UNESCO, EFA global monitoring report 2007, strong foundations: Early childhood care and education. Paris: UNESCO, 2006) and targets for human development defined by the Millennium Development Goals (MDG’s), have stimulated rapid growth in early education and care services in most countries across the Asia Pacific region over the past two decades.

Stage 1: Survival During Stage 1, which may last throughout the first full year of teaching, the teacher's main concern is whether she can survive. This preoccupation with survival may be expressed in questions the teacher asks: "Can I get through the day in one piece? Without losing a child? Can I make it until the end of the week? Until the next vacation? Can I really do this kind of work day after day? Will I be accepted by my colleagues?" Such questions are well expressed in Ryan's enlightening collection of accounts of first-year teaching experiences (3).

Caring for and educating young children is highly skilled and complex, and is dependent upon the educator's education and training, work environment, salary and work benefits. This paper which draws upon two annual BA ECEC Graduate Occupational Profile Surveys undertaken in 2013 and 2014, explores the perceptions of graduates about seeking employment and working in the sector. The findings indicate that the graduates perceived themselves as: professionals who were confident about their practice; held valuable knowledge of the practice frameworks: Síolta and Aistear, and excited about opportunities for professional autonomy. However, while graduates working in the sector were buoyed by their ‘love of children’ and described the work as ‘rewarding’ they were critical of the pay and working conditions. Consistent with [Herzenberg, S., M. Price, and D. Bradley. 2005. Losing Ground in Early Childhood Education: Declining Workforce Qualifications in an Expanding Industry. Economic Policy Institute; Whitebook, M. 2002. Working for Worthy Wages: The Child Care Compensation Movement 1970–2001. Center for the Study of Childcare Employment, Institute for Research on Labor and Employment, UC Berkeley. Moloney, M. 2014. Breach of Trust – Getting it Right for Children in Early Childhood Care and Education in Ireland. New Zealand Research in Early Childhood Education Journal. Special Issue: Early Childhood Policy 17: 71–86] the findings support the assertion that early childhood educators are among the lowest paid professionals, and many graduates indicated their intention to exit the sector. The BA ECEC provided a stepping stone towards post-graduate study and alternative career pathways. The findings highlight a pervasive tension between the potential of ECEC to be a rewarding and satisfying career, and the reality of employment conditions within the sector.

This article examines the learning trajectory of the emerging professionalism of Finnish early childhood education and care student teachers, focusing in particular on their professionalism in early childhood education and care world-view education in the context of cultural and world-view superdiversity. Of specific interest here is what students postulate as meaningful in their professional learning processes and why, and what kinds of directions this value-learning process has taken. The data was generated over a year-long learning process in a group with seven early childhood education and care students and six in-service early childhood education and care teachers through survey responses, reflective learning diaries and retrospective in-depth interviews with the students. Using the Kuusisto and Gearon (2017a) value-learning-trajectory model as an analytical tool, the findings are presented through an in-depth case study depicting one student’s learning throughout the process and across the data sets. To conclude, the conceptual working model is developed further to depict the development of emergent early childhood education and care teacher professionalism with a particular focus on world-view education and early childhood education and care superdiversity.

The interpretation framework of our study is the professional development and learning: Postholm’s definition of professional development, informal learning, the continuously professional learning defined by Szivák et al., mutual and cooperative learning. The central question of our empirical investigation was to what extent the practice of homeschooling during the pandemic can be framed as professional learning and development in the case of Hungarian early childhood teachers from Romania. We hypothesized that, despite the serious challenges of the pandemic, both practicing early childhood teachers and educational experts perceive and identify the elements of homeschooling which can also be framed as professional development and learning. The paper outlines the results of our empirical survey based on questionnaires and interviews. Our sample consisted of 403 early childhood teachers and 14 minority education experts resulting from convenience sampling. The investigation confirms that the picture of the continuously learning professional as an expectation of the teaching career is valid for (most) early childhood teachers. We found that the largest proportion of early childhood teachers proved in this period that they are open to new experiences and are capable of renewing procedural knowledge. In this period, professional learning received greater emphasis.