This article presents findings from a study undertaken by a preservice early childhood teacher, that investigated the experiences of four beginning early childhood qualified teachers in primary school settings. The study explored the metaphors that these teachers used when describing their lived experience stories and analysed what these metaphors indicated about the discourses the teachers perceived were available to them, and where they had chosen to situate themselves within these discourses. Throughout the article, the metaphor of 'border crossings' is used to highlight the focus within much of the literature on the difference and separation between early childhood and primary education. Data were generated through in-depth, open-ended interviews, a group discussion, visual representations and written material. The thematic recurrences and discursive positionings within the metaphors and narratives of the participants were deconstructed and critically analysed using a framework of feminist post-structuralism. In particular, this article explores the discursive positionings related to the teachers' movement within the borderland of early childhood education and primary education. It argues that early childhood teachers in primary schools are operating within an exciting space -an intersection between early childhood education and primary education. Rather than focusing on the difference and separation between these points, the focus shifts to working toward creating points of overlap, of connection -a shared borderland between early childhood education and primary education.
In this article the author responds to Jonathan Silin's article 'At a Loss: Scared and Excited', and in doing so, takes up his ideas around the generative potential of loss. She uses these notions of loss to illuminate how, in one diverse school community in Australia, loss, failure and an 'awful reputation' have opened up spaces for re-imagining multiple, heterogeneous, (im)possible student subjectivities and have allowed room for seeking out pedagogical practices centred around complexity, connectedness, authenticity and uncertainty. 'At the heart of every loss is the possibility of the generative act.' This phrase resonated with a conversation held earlier that day in the wonderful buzz of connection and inspiration that can happen sometimes after a conference session. In the conversation, we had discussed a thread connecting quite different areas of research-a thread of the importance of failure-more specifically the role that the generative and transformative potential that 'lack' or 'loss' or 'failure' of dominant 'truths' can have in opening up spaces for re
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