The Challenges of Making the Invisible Visible

Abstract

Early childhood educators face puzzling and uncertain situations every day. In order to make sense of this complexity, they draw on experiential knowledge that connects the head, the hand and the heart. Despite its importance, this knowledge is relatively invisible – it is embodied in experienced practitioners and embedded in the situations they face. Placements in Early Childhood Teacher Education constitute a unique opportunity to study this particularly elusive type of knowledge. In this chapter, I draw on an ethnographic single case study aimed at studying the transmission of experiential knowledge during placements. In this project I sought to understand the process through which early childhood teacher educators passed on their experiential knowledge to student teachers during placements. Studying the invisible (and making it visible) did not come without its difficulties. I reflect on my journey as a researcher with a focus on the theoretical, methodological and analytical challenges I encountered during the study. Why this particular theoretical framework? Why placements? Why an ethnographic single case study? How to capture, analyse and report on this elusive knowledge? I discuss each of these questions, describe the decision-making process and reflect on its implications.