Collaborative Forum: An Affective Space for Infant–toddler Educators’ Collective Reflections

The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development has shown that there is a steady growth in the numbers of infants attending early childhood services. Despite growing interest in infant learning, recognition of infant teachers as specialised professionals is limited. This research aims to explore the role of early childhood teachers working with infants in early childhood education and care settings through the following questions: (1) What are the teachers’ reported reflections about their role in working with infants? (2) How does this help shape their professional identity? Visual methodologies alongside narrative inquiry were used to capture the lived experiences of infants and their teachers in early childhood education settings. Thematic analysis was conducted within a constructivist paradigm utilising descriptive codes based on Molla and Nolan’s classes of professional functionings. Findings showed infant teachers’ pedagogical work with infants to be subtle, based on specialised understandings of individual children and this age group. The teachers were self-aware, making purposeful pedagogical decisions based on knowledge and experience. Nevertheless, communicating this work with parents, untrained staff and employers remains a challenge. Professional recognition and identity should be reconceptualised with wider recognition of the specialisation of infant teachers including changes in policy and remuneration.

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Professional identity in the infant room

Davis

Dunn

2019

“…The overall research study followed a qualitative visual research methodology and was oriented towards examining infant–toddlers understandings of professional practices through the process of critical reflection (Quiñones et al, 2018). The Monash University Ethics Committee (CF14/2789-2014001523) granted full ethics approval as well as the Department of Education, and Training (Project ID: 2014_002500).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The three Collaborative Forums held at the university were video recorded, providing 17 hours of video data (first and second forums 6 hours and third forum 5 hours), and later transcribed. The Collaborative Forums were a professional and pleasant space for engagement and expansion of awareness of pedagogical practices (Quiñones, et al, 2018).…”

Section: Video Recording Of Three Meetings (Collaborative Forums)mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Collaborations can provide opportunities for critical and imaginative thinking (Bundy, Piazzoli & Dunn, 2015) and an atmosphere of ‘collaborative emergence’ that relates to improvised narratives that emerge collectively, for example, through performance and improvisation led by an expert teacher (Franks, 2015, p. 247). In this paper, the collaborative drawing occurred spontaneously in one of the three Collaborative Forums, where a group of educators collectively reflected on their everyday pedagogical practices (see Quiñones, Li & Ridgway, 2018). The Collaborative Forums provided a space for improvisation and emergence of educators’ collective reflection through drawing.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Collaborative drawing: A creative tool for examination of infant–toddler pedagogical practices

Quiñones

Ridgway

Liang

2019

Self Cite

Evidence was gathered from an Australian long day care project ‘Educators of babies and toddlers; developing a culture of critical reflection’. A cultural–historical theoretical approach was sensitively interwoven with visual methodology. The innovative combination of visual methodology and cultural–historical theory involved the creation of three Collaborative Forums. The Collaborative Forums aimed for participants to collectively unravel their pedagogical knowledge. The visual methodology involved research tools such as video observations, images, collaborative drawings and group interview transcripts. The research tools of mapping promises and collaborative drawing provided opportunity to imagine and map educators’ pedagogical practices. The act of collaborative drawing was an improvised and imagined activity that strengthened understanding of the multiplicity of educators’ promises. The collaborative drawing elicited discussion that created an expansive collective agenda. Collaborative drawing offered an innovative research tool with ongoing capacity to generate expertise for imagining ideal practices for infant–toddler research. The findings suggest that collaborative drawing with educators is a creative and imaginative tool for expanding the infant–toddler research agenda.

“…Raising consciousness in this space could not only create transformative change in the care and education practices for our youngest children, but also on the esteem and professional opportunities provided to birth to three educators. Through growing educators’ awareness in being ‘agents of change’, more meaningful opportunities can in turn be created for infants’ and toddlers’ participation and learning (Quiñones et al, 2018).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

From Birth to Three: Exploring Educators’ Understandings of Agency

Burr

Degotardi

2021

The Early Years Learning Framework promotes the need to recognise children’s participation rights and for educators to be responsive to and promote child agency. This study explored how infant and toddler educators understand agency, and what role they ascribe to themselves in infants’ and toddlers’ realisation of agency. Research was undertaken in early childhood settings in Brisbane, Australia. Interviews and reflection activities were conducted with 15 educators working with children under three years, and responses coded through thematic analysis. Participants provided some working definitions of agency and examples of supporting children’s agency in their everyday practices. However, responses largely revealed confusion and limited understandings of agency. Through engaging a critical feminist paradigm, a connection between the status provided to infant–toddler educators, and the impact upon their knowledge and practice is proposed, and recommendations put forward for increased opportunities relating to birth to three pedagogy.