This article explores how pedagogical documentation, as the refusal of method, can be aligned with post qualitative inquiry, opening up possibilities for refuting dogmas and methods in early childhood pedagogy, theory, practice, and research. It delineates understandings of pedagogical documentation in the educational project of Reggio Emilia, and…

How do we develop understanding of our teacher identities and what can aesthetic modes offer to assist reflection and learning about shifting images of identity? These questions provoked our auto-ethnographic project. As two experienced early childhood teachers, we found ourselves transitioning into new professional terrain as teacher-researcher…

Practitioner research has the potential to facilitate the ongoing knowledge and skill development of preservice and in-service early childhood education and care teachers. The purpose of this systematic literature review is to describe the landscape of practitioner research conducted in the United States. This study synthesizes more than 20 years…

Teacher research has been promoted as a context-relevant approach to improving children's learning experiences in early childhood settings. In this article, we focus on social-emotional learning (SEL), a crucial domain of the early childhood curriculum, to illustrate the role of teacher research in changing early childhood teachers' everyday…

This study examines how 3- and 4-year-old Jewish children think and feel about Israel. The research, conducted as a collaboration between scholars and practitioner-researchers who work in Jewish early childhood centers, draws upon group interviews, elicitation/provocation exercises, a drawing task, and teacher documentation to investigate how some…

Every day, early childhood teachers confront issues, problems, and concerns in their classrooms. Sometimes they do nothing. Sometimes they use trial and error. Sometimes they go to a workshop or read an article. We have found a way to intentionally and systematically research and answer our own questions and to enrich our own professional…

Practitioner research is increasingly used by and with teachers to counter discourses and policies of top-down standardisation. Growing numbers of researchers advocate benefits as the learning and empowerment of educators, and the sense of achievement for university researchers when they research with rather than about educators. We focus here on…

Practitioner research is an approach increasingly used by and with teachers, including in early childhood (EC) education. Studies outlining the benefits of educator engagement in research show learning, empowerment and self-determination in professional direction. There is also a sense of achievement for university researchers when they research…

How does practitioner inquiry impact education? Examining the experiences of practitioners who have participated in inquiry projects, the authors present ways in which this work has enabled educators to be positive change agents. They reveal the difference that practitioner inquiry has made in their professional practice, their understanding of…

This PhD research project involved working with parents, teachers, and children in two nursery classes. I was interested in finding out how individuals perceived the idea of parental involvement in their children's nursery education, with a view to improving practice in this area. In carrying out the research, I had to think carefully about…

Play as a learning practice increasingly is under challenge as a valued component of early childhood education. Views held in parallel include confirmation of the place of play in early childhood education and, at the same time, a denigration of the role of play in favor for more teacher-structured and formal activities. As a consequence,…

The purpose of this qualitative study was to propose a framework for the types of practices and ideologies that the most successful clinical-based, early childhood teacher education programs use to prepare their preservice teachers for the profession. Grounded theory methods guided the collection and analysis of data. Participants included…

This study examined the professional and personal transition undergone by eight experienced early childhood (EC) teachers after completing their graduate studies. The data were collected through interviews and online communication. Three main categories arose in the qualitative content analysis of the text: (1) personal process of change; (2)…

Learning conversations, dialogic interactions with adults, are important opportunities for children to develop their thinking as well as their speech and language skills. This area of teachers' practice is informed by a well-established body of research evidence and professional guidance literature. The design and facilitation of this practitioner…

What is early childhood teacher research and why is it important? How does a teacher researcher formulate a research question and a plan for doing research? How do teachers apply research results to effect change? "Early Childhood Teacher Research" is an exciting new resource that will address the sorts of questions and concerns that pre- and…