Navigating ambiguity: Early childhood leaders’ sense-making of their identity in a new mid-level role

2018 ◽  
Vol 48 (3) ◽  
pp. 514-531
Author(s):  
Smadar Moshel ◽  
Izhak Berkovich
Keyword(s):  
Early Childhood ◽  
Coping Styles ◽  
Early Childhood Teachers ◽  
Systemic Reform ◽  
Sense Making ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Managerial Role ◽  
Initial Stage ◽  
Different Types ◽  
Power Base

Mid-level roles in education have been widely explored, primarily in schools, but little research has been conducted during the systemic reform that involves creating a mid-level role between end units and the system. The present study explores the sense-making of early childhood leaders (ECLs) at the initial stage of their new role as mid-level managers. The new role was established as a result of a national administrative reform that, among others, made the systemic hierarchy more vertical by establishing a new mid-level layer between superintendents and early childhood teachers. This qualitative research included semi-structured interviews with 47 mid-level preschool managers. The study sought to uncover their views of the main challenges associated with assuming a new mid-level managerial role, and their coping styles in this role. The analysis revealed that the new mid-level management role raises three challenges concerning the ambiguity of identity: power base, voice, and interpersonal loyalty. ECLs cope with these challenges by assuming different types of leader identities, those of the representative, the companion, and the mediator. The implications of the findings for the limited knowledge on ECLs and for the introduction of the new mid-level roles are discussed.

Peran Guru Anak Usia Dini Dalam Pengenalan Bahasa Inggris Dasar di PAUD

2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 21-35
Author(s):  
Taranindya Zulhi Amalia
Keyword(s):  
Early Childhood ◽  
Early Childhood Education ◽  
Early Childhood Teachers ◽  
Field Research ◽  
Secondary Data ◽  
Primary Data ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Childhood Education ◽  
Basic English

Abstrak: Guru PAUD memiliki beragam peran seperti guru pada umumnya.  Namun pembedanya tampak pada peran guru PAUD yang bertugas mengembangkan beragam kemampuan dasar anak untuk menggali potensi anak sejak dini.  Kemampuan dasar bahasa asing pada usia ini dimulai dari pengenalan bahasa Inggris secara mendasar yakni melalui kosakata sederhana. Tujuan penelitian ini untuk: 1) mengetahui pengenalan bahasa Inggris dasar dan 2) peran guru anak usia dini dalam pengenalan bahasa Inggris RA/PAUD. Dengan menggunakan jenis penelitian lapangan serta pendekatan deskriptif kualitatif peneliti menentukan Sumber data primer nya adalah kepala RA/PAUD, sie kurikulum, serta wali peserta didik. Sedangkan sumber data sekunder adalah referensi yang relevan dengan pengenalan bahasa Inggris, peran guru, dan PAUD. Kemudian Data diperoleh melalui teknik observasi partisipatif wawancara semi terstruktur dan dokumentasi uji keabsahan data menggunakan uji credibility, transferability dan confirmability melalui reduction, display data dan conclusion drawing.Hasil yang diperoleh adalah pengenalan bahasa Inggris dasar di RA/PAUD dilakukan setiap hari menyatu dengan pembelajaran tema-tema dan sub tema dalam muatan kurikulumnya berbentuk kosakata harian dan sapaan peran guru anak usia dini dalam pengenalan bahasa Inggris dasar sangat bervariasi. Guru memiliki multi peran dalam satu waktu. Peran-peran tersebut adalah sebagai educator, mediator, observer, facilitator, motivator, administrator, dan composer. KataKunci: peran guru PAUD, pengenalan bahasa Inggris, PAUD     Abstract: Early Childhood Education (PAUD) teachers have various roles like teachers in general. But the difference is seen in their roles tasked with developing a variety of children's basic abilities to explore children's potential from an early age. The basic ability of foreign languages ​​at this age starts from the basic introduction of English through simple vocabulary. The purpose of this study is to: 1) determine the introduction of basic English and 2) the roles of early childhood teachers in the introduction of English in this level. By using the type of field research and the qualitative descriptive approach, the researcher determines that the primary data source is the head of the RA, curriculum courses, and guardians of students. While secondary data sources are relevant references to the introduction of English, the role of teachers, and PAUD. Then the data obtained through participatory observation techniques semi-structured interviews and documentation of data validity test using the test of credibility, transferability and confirmability through reduction, display data and conclusion drawing.The results obtained are the introduction of basic English in RA done every day together with the learning of themes and sub themes in the curriculum content in the form of daily vocabulary and the greeting of the role of early childhood teachers in the introduction of basic English varies greatly. The teacher has multiple roles at one time. These roles are as educator, mediator, observer, facilitator, motivator, administrator, and composer.   Keywords: the role of PAUD teachers, introduction to English, early childhood education

scholarly journals Starting Childcare Before Three: Narratives of Experience From a Tri-Partite Focus

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Carmen Dalli
Keyword(s):  
Early Childhood ◽  
Participant Observation ◽  
Early Childhood Teachers ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Childcare Centre ◽  
Guided Participation ◽  
Traditional Research ◽  
Adult Participants ◽  
New Directions ◽  
Combination Of Methods

<p>This thesis explores the event of starting childcare as experienced by five under-three year old children, their mothers and at least one teacher in the childcare centre attended by each child. Narrative accounts of the adults' experiences were gathered through journal records kept by the mothers and the teachers, and during two semi-structured interviews. The children's experiences were recorded through non-participant observation fieldnotes and video-taped records of three events during each orientation visit by the children and their mothers to the childcare centre, and once weekly for the following six weeks. Narratives of experiences were re-constructed from these data using a combination of methods from grounded theory, narrative enquiry and deconstuctivist analysis. The tri-partite focus of this thesis reveals the experience of starting childcare as an emotional one for all participants, not just for children; it argues that the traditional research focus on the emotional significance of this event for children is an incomplete one. Additionally, starting childcare was an experience of induction: through processes of social canalization and guided participation, the mothers and the children were inducted into the ways of the childcare centre by the teachers and the established children in the centre. Deconstuctivist analyses of the adult participants' narrative accounts suggested that both mothers and teachers defined their roles in the children's experience of starting childcare, and their relationships with each other and with the children, against the background of dominant discourses about motherhood and early childhood teaching. For teachers this meant that they expressed their role as subsidiary to that of the mother. The paradox emerged that while teachers saw themselves as less powerful than the mothers in influencing the children's starting childcare experience, the observational data revealed that the teachers' actions determined the way children were 'canalized' into the expected ways of relating to them. Theoretical statements emerged from this study which point to new directions for how the event of starting childcare may be conceptualised in the context of shared care between home adults and early childhood teachers. Implications for enhancing the experience of starting childcare are highlighted.</p>

scholarly journals Starting Childcare Before Three: Narratives of Experience From a Tri-Partite Focus

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Carmen Dalli
Keyword(s):  
Early Childhood ◽  
Participant Observation ◽  
Early Childhood Teachers ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Childcare Centre ◽  
Guided Participation ◽  
Traditional Research ◽  
Adult Participants ◽  
New Directions ◽  
Combination Of Methods

<p>This thesis explores the event of starting childcare as experienced by five under-three year old children, their mothers and at least one teacher in the childcare centre attended by each child. Narrative accounts of the adults' experiences were gathered through journal records kept by the mothers and the teachers, and during two semi-structured interviews. The children's experiences were recorded through non-participant observation fieldnotes and video-taped records of three events during each orientation visit by the children and their mothers to the childcare centre, and once weekly for the following six weeks. Narratives of experiences were re-constructed from these data using a combination of methods from grounded theory, narrative enquiry and deconstuctivist analysis. The tri-partite focus of this thesis reveals the experience of starting childcare as an emotional one for all participants, not just for children; it argues that the traditional research focus on the emotional significance of this event for children is an incomplete one. Additionally, starting childcare was an experience of induction: through processes of social canalization and guided participation, the mothers and the children were inducted into the ways of the childcare centre by the teachers and the established children in the centre. Deconstuctivist analyses of the adult participants' narrative accounts suggested that both mothers and teachers defined their roles in the children's experience of starting childcare, and their relationships with each other and with the children, against the background of dominant discourses about motherhood and early childhood teaching. For teachers this meant that they expressed their role as subsidiary to that of the mother. The paradox emerged that while teachers saw themselves as less powerful than the mothers in influencing the children's starting childcare experience, the observational data revealed that the teachers' actions determined the way children were 'canalized' into the expected ways of relating to them. Theoretical statements emerged from this study which point to new directions for how the event of starting childcare may be conceptualised in the context of shared care between home adults and early childhood teachers. Implications for enhancing the experience of starting childcare are highlighted.</p>

scholarly journals Early childhood teachers' and managers' lived experiences of the COVID-19 pandemic in South Africa

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-18
Author(s):  
Hasina Banu Ebrahim ◽  
Colwyn Martin ◽  
Lorayne Excell
Keyword(s):  
Early Childhood ◽  
Lived Experiences ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
Early Childhood Development ◽  
Early Childhood Teachers ◽  
World Health Organisation ◽  
Childhood Development ◽  
World Health ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Global Pandemic

The declaration of COVID-19 as a global pandemic by the World Health Organisation in March 2020 brought many changes to the early childhood sector internationally. The South African response is best understood in the context of an under-developed sector with pre-existing vulnerabilities. In this article, we present a contextual understanding of the lived experiences of early childhood development (ECD) teachers and managers during the lockdown and the opening phases of a risk-adjusted approach. Our use of a phenomenological lens together with systems theory provides a reality check through a focus on lived experiences. Data were produced through an online survey with 28 ECD teachers and managers. We conducted semi-structured interviews with a subset of 8 of these participants. Findings show that disruptions of COVID-19 led to entrenching inequities in service provision and early learning opportunities. These intersecting dimensions have implications for building effective ECD systems.

scholarly journals Dramatic play as a means to explore and support preschool children’s thinking about thermal insulation

2021 ◽  
Vol 2 (3) ◽  
pp. 220-234 ◽  
Author(s):  
Glykeria Fragkiadaki ◽  
Anna Armeni ◽  
Stella Zioga ◽  
Konstantinos Ravanis
Keyword(s):  
Early Childhood ◽  
Thermal Insulation ◽  
Empirical Data ◽  
Early Childhood Teachers ◽  
Dramatic Play ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Field Notes ◽  
Children's Interests ◽  
Insulating Properties ◽  
Children’S Thinking

Research in young children’s ideas, representations, and pre-conceptions about the natural and technical world has a long history. Most of the studies in the field have used individual, semi-structured interviews as a methodological technique to generate and collect empirical data. However, less is known about how tracing procedures can come in line and be incorporated into everyday educational reality in early childhood settings in a way that reflects young children’s interests and needs. The present study uses dramatic play to trace young children’s thinking in science and advance their science learning experiences. The study focuses on a science concept young children are familiar with in everyday life though has not been thoroughly studied in the literature yet: thermal insulation. Empirical data from 6 preschoolers in Greece are presented. Qualitative data were collected through recordings of children’s dialogues, children’s drawings, field notes from the early childhood teachers, and photographs. The findings revealed that during their dramatic play children a) developed basic argumentation to express their thinking about the phenomenon; b) related the phenomenon with the thermal condition and changes in temperature; c) identified materials and objects with insulating properties and distinguish them from others with non-insulating properties, and d) came to the conclusion that the use of amplified insulation materials can lead to better insulation results. The outcomes of the study add to the research methodology in early childhood science education and inform practice providing a pedagogical framework that balances between play-based pedagogies and advanced learning outcomes in science for young learners.

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