Suggested both june mcconaghy and catherine patterson and alma fleet
Lecturer's notes Topic 1
1. Who Am I?
My story
Myself as a professional
Reflective Learning Journal entry - "a story"
A Reflective Learning Journal (or, perhaps you could call it a Being and becoming story) is a tool for helping you to reflect on who you are, where you have come from, and where you want to go. In regard to this unit and this course, keeping a reflective learning journal can assist you to reflect on yourself as an professional early childhood educator. Recording your reactions, thoughts and feelings about the readings in your studies, and relating the ideas you are reading about to your own experiences, will help you with your assessment tasks, to get the most out of your studies. It can assist you in understanding the new ideas and skills that you are learning as you work through each unit in the course. Read the file titled Reflecting for descriptions of how to write reflectively and for some hints for setting up a journal and what to include in it. (You may want to read the chapter in the text book on reflective reading now, or you may choose to read it later as suggested in the study schedule).
You may want to set your journal up in the traditional paper format or you may choose to use an electronic format such as: a word processor document with images and hyperlinks; an mp3 recording or podcast; a photo essay; and Inspiration® diagram; a Flash® animation, or a mixture of these various forms of communication in, for example, a PowerPoint® document, a web page, a digital story, a blog, a video, a vodcast ...).
I have added a couple of examples of stories to the Topic One tile. Click directly onto the links on the tile for Simpson & Smith (2013) and Washington (2015).
References
Bloch, M. N. (2008). Gender, work, and child care: Crossing borders in the life and work of Sally Lubeck. Journal of Early Childhood Research, 6(1), 31–45. doi:10.1177/1476718X07086598
Patterson, C., & Fleet, A. (1998). Early childhood teachers: writing to explore professional experience. Journal of Early Childhood Teacher Education, 19(1), 71-76.
Schutz, P. A., & Lee, M. (2014). Teacher emotion, emotional labor and teacher identity. Utrecht Studies in Language and Communication, (27), 169–186,361–362.
Topic 1 Readings
Noori, K. (1996). Writing my own script: pathways to teaching. Young Children, 51(3), 17-19.
Patterson, C., & Fleet, A. (1998). Early childhood teachers: writing to explore professional experience. Journal of Early Childhood Teacher Education, 19(1), 71-76.
Our actions are influenced by values and beliefs that we may or may not be aware of. As part of understanding our own professional foundations it is essential that we uncover and consider the deep-seated notions that steer and motivate us. At a recent professional development day I attended one of the presenters said:
story’s always there
doesn’t matter whether we tell it or not
story’s always there
The essence of being a professional who embraces continual learning lies in both attitude and commitment to action. In other words, our growth is dependent on our desire to improve and our willingness to do what it takes to learn. Professional life is complex and challenging because of divergent views on wise practice. Therefore, practitioners who are committed to their own continuous improvement will engage in intuitive reflection (Schon 1983,1987, as cited in Jaegar, 2013) on their past and current learnings and experiences to help frame and solve everyday problems. Such professional growth may encompass the application of any number of tools and techniques.
The processes of becoming an ECEC professional include far more than formal training (such as professional development courses and university study). It includes informal training as well as collegial networking and mentoring. In discussing professional development Alma Fleet and Catherine Patterson (2001) argue that early childhood educators need to be viewed as empowered learners and that approaches to professional development need to be rethought in broader constructivist terms. Kathryn Castle (2012) provides detailed examples and discussion of the type of professional learning early childhood educators can and are participating in, making a strong case for the active involvement of teachers in research.
Fleet, A., & Patterson, C. (2001). Professional growth reconceptualised: early childhood staff searching for meaning. Early Childhood Research & Practice, 3(2). Retrieved from http://ecrp.uiuc.edu/v3n2/fleet.html
Jaeger, E. L. (2013). Teacher reflection: supports, barriers, and results. Issues in Teacher Education, 22(1), 89–104.
Topic 2 readings
Lecturer's notes Topic 3
3. Am I a Professional?
Developing professionally
Professionalism is not a static state. We are continually becoming as we move in and out of different settings and positions. As a student beginning your University degree, you possess educational qualifications and a wealth of experiences. Thus, you are already on a professional path that is supported by a strong foundation that will inform your studies at UNE. This ECEC teacher degree aims to further extend your current understandings through exposure to theories, research and specialised knowledge that is held within the global field of early childhood education. Research by Hyson, Morris & Tomlinson (2009) suggests that while there is some evidence which supports the argument that ECEC educators who have higher education degrees are able to provide higher quality programs for the children in their care, the evidence is not yet conclusive. However, they further state that there is some support for the claim that "higher education can and does contribute significantly to teachers' capacity to influence child development and learning in critical, positive, lasting ways" (online). It is this and other research which has informed the Australian Federal Government's policy requiring a proportion of three year trained ECEC teachers in every ECEC setting. The research has also influenced the NSW Government's decision to require all ECEC teachers to be registered, and to engage in regular professional development to maintain their registration.
Cook, K., Davis, E., Williamson, L., Harrison, L. J., & Sims, M. (2013). Discourses of professionalism in Family Day Care. Contemporary Issues in Early Childhood, 14(2), 112 - 126. doi:10.2304/ciec.2013.14.2.112
Hyson, M., Morris, C. A. S., & Tomlinson, H. B. (2009). Quality improvement in early childhood teacher education: faculty perspectives and recommendations for the future. Early Childhood Research & Practice, 11(1).
Communication and relationships in the early childhood field are complex as they involve a variety of people with different capacities to affect each other and the contexts in which we work. Gilles Deleuze and Felix Guattari (1988) suggest that an important aspect of our becoming is the alliances we make with both the human and the non-human. In ECEC settings we make alliances in ways that will support our own becomings as well as the becomings of the children in our care. We must develop relationships with children as well as with parents, colleagues, community members and other professionals and stakeholders. The readings for this topic attempt to cover these various relationships. Subhadra Chapman (2009) tells the story of a project which involved children, families, staff and community. Anne Stonehouse (2012) explores the difference between parent involvement and parent participation, and Jerlean Daniel (2009) looks at ways we can engage families in our programs and provides two very interesting examples of family engagement in difficult situations.
References
Topic 4 Readings
How do I relate with others?
Chapman, S. (2009). Whale of a time. Rattler (Sydney), (90), 20–24.
In this final topic in Module 1 we look at how you can share your professional understandings within changing contexts. Better understanding your 'self' has been the first step in this journey. This was followed by understandings of professionalism and the importance of relationships between early childhood professionals and all those they work with and for. Now the focus moves to you as an advocate and leader within the profession. Each of us is an occasional leader even if we do not hold a leadership position.
In order to share our professionalism we must recognise that our beliefs are evolving. This is part of our becomings. Our global context is also discontinuously changing. This means change is not predictable. Within this uncertainty the best way to shape our professional future is to continuously develop individual understandings and attitudes about ourselves. Secondly, we need to develop strategies to share our professional beliefs. Change provides opportunities for growth. If we embrace change we can collectively influence the directions of our profession, rather than being constrained by attitudes, beliefs and practices of the past.
Early childhood educators are not always either confident to be advocates, or believe that it is their job. Mevawalla and Hadley (2012), Smale (2010) and Sims, Forrest, Semann and Slatttery (2015) report on research with early childhood educators and leaders into their perceptions of advocacy in ECEC, and their roles as advocates. Their findings are very interesting. It would be interesting for you, as you read these articles, to think about how you would have responded if you were a participant in these studies.
McCrea, N. L. (2015). Leading and managing early childhood settings: Inspiring people, places and practices. Port Melbourne, Australia: Cambridge University Press.
Mevawalla, Z., & Hadley, F. (2012). The advocacy of educators: Perspectives from early childhood. Australasian Journal of Early Childhood, 37(1), 74–80.
Last modified: Monday, 12 March 2018, 7:16 PM
Topic 5 Readings
How do I share my understandings?
Smale, S. (2010). Advocacy to Promote Children’s Wellbeing and Rights. Every Child, 16(3), 20–21.