Professional identity in the infant room

Abstract

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.

From Birth to Three: Exploring Educators’ Understandings of Agency

“…Concerns have been raised over the capacity of infant–toddler educators to use and critically reflect upon the EYLF (Davis et al, 2015; Salamon, 2011). Until government policy, qualification requirements and training opportunities become equitable for all early childhood educators, infant–toddler educators may require more explicit examples of birth to three pedagogies including definitions and opportunities for infant–toddler agency (Davis & Dunn, 2019). As the literature has shown, agency comprises broader and more nuanced components of interdependence and social connection (Ghirotto & Mazzoni, 2013; Matusov et al, 2016).…”

“…Rockel (2009) thus identifies the essential link between educators’ own professional identify and agency and their understandings of infant–toddler agency. As low levels of professional status, qualifications and professional development opportunities are often associated with the infant–toddler workforce (Davis & Dunn, 2019; McDowall Clark & Baylis, 2012), it follows that this may be impacting the capacity to recognise and promote the agency of children in their care.…”

Feasibility and initial psychometric properties of the Observe, Reflect, Improve Children’s Learning Tool (ORICL) for Early Childhood Services: A tool for building capacity in infant and toddler educators

“…First, the ORICL focusses specifically on children in the first three years of life, an age group that is under-emphasised in early childhood educator training compared to children aged 3-years and over (Chu, 2016). This age group is seen by educators as more difficult to plan for, and/or 'find' in national early years curriculum frameworks (Davis and Dunn, 2019). Second, the ORICL focusses on observations of young children's experiences within the natural ecology of ECEC, rather than context-generic observations focussed on children's developmental competency in specific areas as other tools do (e.g., Ages and Stages Questionnaire: Bricker and Squires, 1999).…”

Infant Educators’ Reported Conceptions of, and Approaches to, Infant Language Development: How do They Relate to Educator Qualification Level?

“…In contemporary society, many infants regularly attend early childhood education and care (ECEC) services. In these countries, early childhood educators 1 , including those working with infants, have a professional responsibility to promote the learning and development of all children in their programs (Davis and Dunn 2019;Degotardi 2015;Hansen and Alvestad 2018).…”