Communities of Practice: A Model for Professional Development in Early Childhood Education and Care to Support Children with Communication Barriers?

Abstract

Since 2018, Swedish preschools have used a revised curriculum that has aimed at strengthening children’s communication skills and ensuring that children with special needs receive the support required to communicate and interact with others. Changes in steering documents have impacted preschool practice and the meaning that preschool professionals assign to their own competence and skills. Therefore, there is a need to examine how preschool staff collaborate and improve their professional skills to meet the curriculum objectives for children who need special support for communication. The present study has collected data from interviews with three headmasters, eight preschool teachers and two preschool assistants from three Swedish preschools. The research question is as follows: How can joint enterprise, mutual engagement and shared repertoire support professional development for working with children with special needs related to communication? The analysis uses a narrative approach based on Wenger’s theory of community of practice (CoP). The findings show that CoP can be a form professional development that can help early childhood education and care (ECEC) pedagogues improve their skills and profession so that they can teach and stimulate children facing barriers in their communication. The results also indicate that as a model for professional development, CoP can be supplemented with other forms of professional development, such as collegial external study groups and coaching, to add more knowledge to enable professionalisation. Therefore, the study provides ways to gain knowledge about professional development in ECEC environments in countries outside Sweden and contributes to a renewed approach towards professionalisation.KeywordsEarly childhood Education and Care Community of Practice (CoP)Professional developmentCommunicationSpecial needs