Tensions and Challenges in Professional Practice with Under-Threes: A New Zealand Reflection on Early Childhood Professionalism as a Systemic Phenomenon

Abstract

Internationally there has been an upsurge in the professionalisation of the early childhood education and care (ECEC) workforce and in debates about the meaning of professionalism when applied to practitioners in early childhood settings. This chapter elaborates on the notion of early childhood professionalism as a systemic and ecological phenomenon rather than as a characteristic that resides in individuals and their actions. In the context of changing policy priorities about the professionalisation of the New Zealand ECEC workforce, the chapter draws on evidence from two recent projects to present the argument that teachers’ professional practice within the immediate environment of their early childhood setting, however creative and resourceful, remains limited in what it can achieve without a supportive policy infrastructure. The chapter presents the argument that structural policy arrangements at a systemic level are essential to ensure professionalism of practice.