ERIC Number: EJ1399449
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2023
Pages: 15
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1941-5257
EISSN: EISSN-1941-5265
Developing Early Childhood Educators with Diverse Qualifications: The Need for Differentiated Approaches
Professional Development in Education, v49 n5 p812-826 2023
Many countries have a diverse early childhood education and care (ECEC) workforce, comprising educators with a range of qualifications and backgrounds. This diversity creates challenges for professional development, as educators with different qualifications (including university degrees and vocational qualifications) may have different strengths and challenges in developing their professionalism and practice. Using descriptive data from three large-scale Australian surveys, this study examines how educators with different qualifications also differ in other ways. It groups the differences between educators according to the three dimensions of learning and development in Australia's ECEC curriculum framework -- "being" (who they are), "belonging" (how they feel), and "becoming" (their learning and development trajectories over time) -- which are important components of educators' learning and development, just as they are for children's. The results show that groups of educators with different qualifications differ in many aspects of their "being, belonging," and "becoming"; including socio-economic status; previous experiences of learning; commitment to the ECEC sector, and enjoyment of their work. Each group, therefore, faces specific challenges and opportunities in their professional development. The study calls attention to the need for responsiveness to the diversity of early childhood educators in professional development and ECEC policy, in Australia and elsewhere.
Descriptors: Early Childhood Teachers, Faculty Development, Diversity, Teacher Qualifications, Foreign Countries, Teacher Attitudes, Professional Identity, Sense of Community, Career Development
Routledge. Available from: Taylor & Francis, Ltd. 530 Walnut Street Suite 850, Philadelphia, PA 19106. Tel: 800-354-1420; Tel: 215-625-8900; Fax: 215-207-0050; Web site: http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Early Childhood Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Australia
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A