ERIC Number: EJ1425066
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2024
Pages: 15
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0957-5146
EISSN: EISSN-1472-4421
Educators' Narratives about Everyday Work of Early Childhood Education and Care in the Culturally Diverse North
Early Years: An International Journal of Research and Development, v44 n2 p419-433 2024
The aim of the study is to deepen understanding of educators' daily practices in the Northern ECEC through the lenses of culturally responsive teaching. The research material consists of two-staged peer interviews with 10 educators, which were selected from the whole research material for detailed analysis. The main finding of this study is ethical balancing, which permeates the work of educators in the culturally diverse North. Ethical balancing is presented through four dimensions: (1) educators' struggles between equality and cultural diversity in everyday ECEC life, (2) educators' values confronting the requirements of culturally responsive teaching and diverse educational communities, (3) educators balancing between diverse perspectives in collaboration with families and (4) educators' experiences of inadequacy in culturally diverse settings. In addition to new empirical knowledge, the study provides a new methodological approach to the ECEC research field. The peer interview method has the potential to support educators with the dilemmas of everyday practice, and the method can also be extended to teacher education to support student teachers during their studies. The study challenges educators, education providers and policymakers to engage more deeply with the aims and practices of culturally responsive teaching to respond better to the needs of a diversifying society.
Descriptors: Early Childhood Education, Equal Education, Student Diversity, Culturally Relevant Education, Parent Teacher Cooperation, Teacher Competencies, Foreign Countries, Early Childhood Teachers, Preservice Teachers, Cultural Differences, Teaching Conditions
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; Higher Education; Postsecondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Finland
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A