Elizabeth Rouse

Making Learning Visible--Parents' Perceptions of Children's Learning Outdoors.

Parents as partners in their childrens learning is predicated by a notion of a mutual understanding of the learning as shared by educators. Documenting learning in early childhood education and care (ECE & C) settings has evolved from more traditional developmental approaches to include photographs, artefacts and social stories to make learning visible for parents. However, while educators are using these approaches to document learning in ECE & C settings, the shared understanding of the learning for parents is not always mutually understood. The paper presents a small-scale case study, which examined the way parents in one long day ECE & C service which had recently redeveloped an outdoor play area to bring in more natural affordances to support the childrens learning and development. The paper reports on the perceptions of two parents with children attending this centre in how the educators were making visible the learning and development afforded the children through engaging in this newly designed space. The study found that while educators were using a range of documentation approaches, the parents had little shared understanding of their children as engaging in this space.

Partnerships in Early Childhood Education and Care: Empowering Parents or Empowering Practitioners:

Research acknowledges that outcomes for young children are enhanced when effective partnerships are developed between educators and families. The Australian Early Years Learning Framework provides direction for the professional practice of early childhood educators by acknowledging the importance of educators working in partnership with families. In the Victorian state-based early years framework, family-centred practice has been included as the practice model. Family-centred practice has as its core a philosophy of professionals supporting the empowerment of parents as active decision makers for their child. The early childhood education and care sector in Australia, however, is made up of a workforce which is largely perceived as being undervalued as a profession. This raises questions as to the capacity of these educators to support the empowerment of parents when they themselves are coming from a position of disempowerment due to their professional status. This article reports on findings from a small-scale study of childhood educators working in a long day-care setting which aimed to identify perceptions of the partnerships that exist between themselves and parents. In the course of the investigation, it became evident that some of educators felt disempowered in the relationships that exist with some families.

The family–centre partnership disconnect: creating reciprocity

The purpose of this article is to examine the disconnect happening in relation to family–centre partnerships. Developing partnerships with families is hotly debated and provides challenges for educators teaching in the early childhood sector. Using a comparative case study analysis, several research studies conducted in the states of New South Wales and Victoria, Australia, are examined to illustrate these disconnects. These issues are examined within Belonging, Being and Becoming: The Early Years Learning Framework for Australia, a national framework that is common to all programs across Australia, which identifies practice, principles and learning outcomes for young children. This disconnect is related to the language that is used by the early childhood staff and misunderstood by the parents, the ways communication occurs and its ineffectiveness. The article argues that there is a need to move beyond the current rhetoric of engaging in partnerships with families to a space that allows for transparency, reciprocity and new language.

Mutuality and reciprocity in parent-teacher relationships: understanding the nature of partnerships in early childhood education and care provision

THE EXPECTATION THAT EDUCATORS will develop partnerships with parents is a key principle in early childhood education and care provision. This is particularly so in Australia where policy guidelines and quality standards list parent partnerships as key indicators of quality practice. However the language used across the two key policy documents, the Early Years Learning Framework and the National Quality Standard, is inconsistent in the way these partnerships are defined and intended to be enacted. This has resulted in an ambiguity in the way teachers and educators are engaging in partnerships in their work with families. Drawing on a framework for examining partnerships that positions the notion of mutuality and reciprocity in the centre of the relationship, and examining this through Bronfenbrenners (1979) ecological perspective, this paper presents findings of a small scale case study that explored the extent to which these characteristics are reflected in the relationships between the teacher and parents. The study found that while the teacher was meeting identified performance standards, that a true partnership underpinned by mutuality and reciprocity was not evident in the relationships between the teacher and the families.

The role of the educational leader in long day care – how do they perceive their role?

National reforms introduced into the early childhood education and care sector across Australia have created a requirement for each service to appoint an ‘educational’ leader to provide curriculum direction to ensure that children achieve quality care and education to lead to positive outcomes. Leadership in the early childhood has often been contested and complex, but the addition of a new leadership for building pedagogy and practice has created additional complexities. This paper reports the findings of a small-scale qualitative research study investigating how a small number of educational leaders working in long day care settings in urban Australia perceive their role. The study identified that these educational leaders came to the position unwillingly and felt poorly prepared and supported to meet the challenges presented.

Mixed-age grouping in early childhood – creating the outdoor learning environment

Children attending centre-based early childhood care and education programmes across Australia are most likely to be grouped according to age and development. While multi- or mixed-age grouping has been seen to have positive benefits on young childrens learning and pro-social behaviours, this approach is not usually adopted in the organisation of childrens grouping in most long day care settings across the county. This paper reports on a case study which explored one urban childrens setting where the outdoor learning space has been specifically designed to enable a mixed-age approach for children. The findings suggest that while the educators see many benefits across the age groups in engaging in this approach, there is still a preference to segregate the very young children arising from concerns for their safety. The study also found that planning for learning especially in regards pro-social learning with the older children has been problematic.

Where did love and care get lost? Educators and parents’ perceptions of early childhood practice

ABSTRACT Overarching the Australian Early Childhood Education and Care sector currently are the Early Years Learning Framework and the National Quality Standards and shape the practice of early childhood educators. Within these documents, the word LOVE is not mentioned as an important characteristic of effective teaching. This paper examines the notion of love in ECEC contexts, drawing on three studies which examined parent and educator perspectives on what is important in ECEC practice. A consistent theme throughout these studies was families discussing the notions of care, love, happiness and friendships as important for their children in ECEC. Families were not as focused on qualifications and/or expertise, but instead valued educators who they felt knew and loved their children. Educators rarely mentioned the words love or happiness, but instead spoke about child development and learning when reflecting on the programme in the ECEC settings. We will argue in this article the language of learning in ECEC, which is being influenced by the neoliberalist discourse in education, restricts educators engaging in other discourses about practice which include care and love.

Pedagogies of outdoor spaces: an early childhood educator professional learning journey

ABSTRACT This manuscript presents the findings of a study that explored how teachers’ perceptions of natural play learning environments were transformed through targeted professional learning (PL). Australia’s early childhood education and care (ECEC) policy outlines a responsibility for educators to ensure that outdoor learning spaces provide experiences in both built and natural environments. In response, many ECEC settings are redesigning outdoor spaces to provide for natural and open-ended affordances. Drawing from interview data collected over an 18-month period, this manuscript shares the story of three educators as they participate in targeted PL while engaging with the outdoor space. Findings show that prior to the PL, the educators focused on what they saw as limitations to the space. Engaging in the PL led to changed perceptions for the educators who felt more confident in their understandings of the value and benefits of nature-rich outdoor environments to support young children’s active play.