scholarly journals Early childhood educators’ solidarity and struggles for recognition

2021 ◽  
pp. 183693912110501
Author(s):  
Gloria Quinones ◽  
Melissa Barnes ◽  
Emily Berger
Keyword(s):  
Early Childhood ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Analytical Framework ◽  
Early Childhood Educators ◽  
Personal Experiences ◽  
Education And Care ◽  
Societal Level ◽  
Emotional Demands ◽  
Struggle For Recognition ◽  
Depth Interviews

Early childhood education and care (ECEC) educators’ well-being and emotional demands during COVID require careful attention. This article explores the emotional demands experienced by ECEC educators in Australia during ongoing periods of lockdown. A survey was designed to gather quantitative and qualitative data and participants were asked to participate in in-depth interviews. Thirty participants were interviewed to explore personal experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic; of these, a selected sample of six participants is presented, drawing on Honneth’s (1995) as an analytical framework. The findings show ECEC educators’ struggle for recognition and how solidarity amongst educators emerged as a key response. Implications provide impetus for the active recognition of the early childhood profession. Solidarity as a new concept in ECEC includes the recognition of the early childhood profession at a societal level, recognising the significant professional work early childhood educators accomplish, and their struggle during the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond.

scholarly journals Social justice and cultural holiday celebrations in the early childhood curriculum: perceptions of early childhood educators

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
May Jolliffe
Keyword(s):  
Social Justice ◽  
Early Childhood ◽  
Early Childhood Educators ◽  
Early Childhood Curriculum ◽  
Childhood Education ◽  
Greater Toronto Area ◽  
Education And Care ◽  
Future Work ◽  
Holiday Celebrations ◽  
Depth Interviews

This qualitative study focuses on the celebration of cultural holidays in Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) settings. There is little Canadian literature exploring how Early Childhood Educators (ECEs) perceive cultural holidays, social justice, and multiculturalism. In- depth interviews were conducted with five ECEs representing a range of professional experience in the Greater Toronto Area. Thematic analysis of the data yielded three themes: belonging, curriculum approaches, and systemic barriers. Participants identified gaps in training and professional development and made recommendations for future work in this area. There is substantial literature support for the participants’ views on the importance of social justice, the need to support and respect families, and increased knowledge about cultural holidays. The study suggests that ECEs need additional knowledge and resources in order to successfully implement socially just cultural holidays.

A critique of the discursive landscape: Challenging the invisibility of early childhood educators’ well-being

2020 ◽  
Vol 21 (2) ◽  
pp. 96-110
Author(s):  
Tamara Cumming ◽  
Helen Logan ◽  
Sandie Wong
Keyword(s):  
Early Childhood ◽  
Early Childhood Education ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Early Childhood Educators ◽  
Research Attention ◽  
Childhood Education ◽  
Early Childhood Policy ◽  
Education And Care ◽  
Positive Experiences ◽  
Outcomes For Children

Children’s well-being has received extensive research attention and has a central role in early childhood policy and curricular guidelines. However, the well-being of early childhood educators has received fragmentary research attention and is unacknowledged in policy and curricular documents. Given the seemingly self-evident links between educators’ well-being and positive experiences and outcomes for children, why is educators’ well-being invisible within the discursive landscape of early childhood education and care? In this article, the authors offer explanations for this invisibility by identifying and critiquing a number of discourses that have shaped, and continue to shape, early childhood education and educators’ positions within it. They use Foucault’s idea of dividing practices to demonstrate how these discourses have formed regimes – and, ultimately, a discursive landscape – that make the issue of educators’ well-being invisible. The authors then begin the work of challenging this discursive landscape by using theoretical resources from Deleuze and Guattari, and Tronto, to argue for placing care, and a logic of ‘and’, at the centre of supports for educators’ well-being. They offer examples and questions to prompt ongoing critique and action.

scholarly journals Social justice and cultural holiday celebrations in the early childhood curriculum: perceptions of early childhood educators

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
May Jolliffe
Keyword(s):  
Social Justice ◽  
Early Childhood ◽  
Early Childhood Educators ◽  
Early Childhood Curriculum ◽  
Childhood Education ◽  
Greater Toronto Area ◽  
Education And Care ◽  
Future Work ◽  
Holiday Celebrations ◽  
Depth Interviews

This qualitative study focuses on the celebration of cultural holidays in Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) settings. There is little Canadian literature exploring how Early Childhood Educators (ECEs) perceive cultural holidays, social justice, and multiculturalism. In- depth interviews were conducted with five ECEs representing a range of professional experience in the Greater Toronto Area. Thematic analysis of the data yielded three themes: belonging, curriculum approaches, and systemic barriers. Participants identified gaps in training and professional development and made recommendations for future work in this area. There is substantial literature support for the participants’ views on the importance of social justice, the need to support and respect families, and increased knowledge about cultural holidays. The study suggests that ECEs need additional knowledge and resources in order to successfully implement socially just cultural holidays.

Poeticalization and Storying; www.mmm.com

2018 ◽  
Vol 25 (7) ◽  
pp. 637-640 ◽  
Author(s):  
Merete Moe ◽  
Anne B. Reinertsen
Keyword(s):  
Early Childhood ◽  
Early Childhood Education ◽  
Sick Leave ◽  
Working Life ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Work Environments ◽  
Childhood Education ◽  
Work World ◽  
Education And Care

A threshold situation is a kind of crisis of, for example, deteriorating health. Fall 2014, a project was conducted, focusing on writing for well-being with a former employee and leader at an Early Childhood Education and Care, now on long-term sick leave. Here is her story and poem; her writings/Sis. Our stories and theory/practice/data/interpretive poems; our writings/Merete and Anne: Our companionship, company, and compassion: Sis/Merete/Anne.Com . We aim at Deleuze and Guattarian safespace writing. In modern working life participation, empowerment, governance, and self-leadership is considered vital for creating good psychosociological work environments. Foucault’s concept governmentality aims to elucidate how we are created as subjects, looking at how we are governed by others and by ourselves according to norms and expectations in organizations, society, and from ourselves. We think with poetry to open up, explore, and fabulate. We call it poeticalization and storying and work and worlds and words or rather work/world/word/making/melding/mattering/Sis/Merete/Anne: www.mmm.com .

scholarly journals Comparing regulatory and non-regulatory indices of Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) quality in the Australian early childhood sector

2020 ◽  
Vol 30 (75) ◽  
pp. 958
Author(s):  
Iram Siraj ◽  
Steven J. Howard ◽  
Denise Kingston ◽  
Cathrine Neilsen‑Hewett ◽  
Edward C. Melhuish ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Early Childhood ◽  
Early Childhood Education ◽  
Rating Scale ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Quality Standard ◽  
Childhood Education ◽  
Childhood Environment ◽  
National Quality ◽  
Education And Care ◽  
Early Childhood Environment

<p>Este estudo analisa as associações entre as pontuações provenientes de processos regulatórios de avaliação da qualidade da educação infantil australiana (Early Childhood Education and Care – ECEC) do National Quality Standard (NQS)2 e das duas escalas de avaliação de qualidade (SSTEW – Sustained Shared Thinking and Well Being; e ECERS-E – Early Childhood Environment Rating Scale-Extension). A amostra consiste em 257 unidades de ECEC em três estados australianos. Os resultados indicaram: associações positivas modestas entre as pontuações do NQS e das escalas; alguma especificidade entre as áreas de qualidade do NQS (aspectos do projeto e práticas pedagógicas para as crianças; relações com crianças) e de uma escala de avaliação – a SSTEW; variabilidade das pontuações das escalas de qualidade dentro de cada classificação do NQS; e atenuação dessas associações quando  o tempo  entre  as avaliações  ultrapassa  24 meses. As conclusões sugerem que o NQS e as escalas de avaliação indicam um núcleo comum de qualidade, mas capturam aspectos diferentes da qualidade, sugerindo que ambos poderiam ser usados para melhorar os padrões de qualidade nas pré-escolas australianas, onde as escalas de avaliação potencializam a qualidade ainda mais do que o NQS.</p><p><strong>Palavras-chave:</strong> National Quality Standard, ECERS-E, SSTEW, Qualidade, Pré-Escola, Regulamentação</p><p> </p><p><strong>Comparando índices regulatorios y no regulatorios de calidad de la educación infantil en Australia</strong></p><p>Este estudio analiza las asociaciones entre los puntajes provenientes de procesos regulatorios   de evaluación de la calidad de la educación infantil australiana (Early Childhood Education and Care – ECEC) del National Quality Standard (NQS) y de las dos escalas de evaluación de calidad (SSTEW – Sustained Shared Thinking and Well Being; y ECERS-E – Early Childhood Environment Rating Scale-Extended). La muestra consiste en 257 unidades de ECEC en tres estados de Australia. Los resultados indicaron: asociaciones positivas modestas entre los puntajes del NQS y de las escalas; alguna especificidad entre las áreas de calidad del NQS (aspectos del proyecto y prácticas pedagógicas para los niños; relaciones con niños) y una escala de evaluación –  la SSTEW; variabilidad de los puntajes de las escalas de calidad dentro de cada clasificación del NQS; y atenuación de dichas asociaciones siempre que el tiempo entre las evaluaciones supera los 24 meses. Las conclusiones sugieren que el NQS y las escalas de evaluación indican un núcleo común de calidad, pero capturan aspectos distintos de la calidad, lo que sugiere que ambos se podrían utilizar para mejorar los estándares de calidad en el sistema preescolar australiano, en el que las escalas de evaluación potencian todavía más la calidad que el NQS.</p><p><strong>Palabras clave:</strong> National Quality Standard, ECERS-E, SSTEW, Calidad, Sistema Preescolar, Reglamentación</p><p> </p><p><strong>Comparing regulatory and non-regulatory indices of Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) quality in the Australian early childhood sector</strong></p><p>This study examines associations between Australia’s regulatory ratings of quality in Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) – the National Quality Standard (NQS) – and two research-based quality rating scales. The analytic sample consisted of 257 ECEC services across three Australian states. Results indicated (1) modest positive associations between NQS ratings and scale scores; (2) some specificity between NQS quality areas (educational programs and practice; relationships with children) and one research scale – the Sustained Shared Thinking and Emotional Wellbeing (SSTEW) scale; (3) variability in quality scales scores within each NQS designation; and (4) mitigation of these associations when the time-gap between ratings exceeded 24 months. Findings suggest NQS and research scales tap some common core of quality, yet capture different aspects of quality, suggesting both could be used to raise standards of quality in Australian preschools, where the research scales potentiate raising quality to even higher levels than NQS.</p><p><strong>Keywords</strong>: National Quality Standard, ECERS-E, SSTEW, Quality, Preschool, Regulation</p>

A multilevel perspective on the perceived effects of COVID-19 on nurses in China

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mengyao Sun ◽  
Sophie Hennekam
Keyword(s):  
Well Being ◽  
Organizational Level ◽  
Chinese Society ◽  
Negative Effects ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Individual Level ◽  
Perceived Effects ◽  
Multilevel Perspective ◽  
Societal Level ◽  
Depth Interviews

PurposeThis study examines the effects of COVID-19 on individual, organizational and societal level as perceived by nurses in China.Design/methodology/approachWe draw on two qualitative studies consisting of 483 qualitative surveys and 28 in-depth interviews with nurses in China.FindingsThe pandemic has enhanced the profile of the nursing profession in Chinese society and has led to an increase in recognition, respect and visibility of nurses. In addition, participants point to an improved workplace culture in which there is a strong sense of pride in the collective effort they put. Simultaneously, however, nurses reported how COVID-19 was perceived to be detrimental to their own psychological well-being, while also interfering with their work–life balance.Originality/valueThe data reveal the paradoxal effects of COVID-19 on nurses in China. On societal and organizational level, the pandemic seems to have had a positive effect, while on individual level a range of perceived negative effects is identified.

Towards a holistic conceptualisation of early childhood educators’ work-related well-being

2018 ◽  
Vol 20 (3) ◽  
pp. 265-281 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tamara Cumming ◽  
Sandie Wong
Keyword(s):  
Early Childhood ◽  
Systems Theory ◽  
Empirical Research ◽  
Research Policy ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Ecological Systems ◽  
Early Childhood Educators ◽  
Policy And Practice ◽  
Work Related ◽  
Key Aspects

Both the concept of well-being and the work of early childhood educators are complex. To date, research concerning educators’ well-being has lacked a comprehensive conceptualisation that reflects these complexities. With increased research, policy and practice attention, a clearly articulated conceptualisation is now needed to guide empirical research and practical efforts to better support educators’ well-being. In this article, the authors draw on multidisciplinary perspectives to propose such a conceptualisation. Philosophical, psychological, physiological, organisational science and sociological sources are explored and critiqued for their relevance to early childhood educators’ well-being. Key aspects of these sources, and Bronfenbrenner’s ecological systems theory, are brought together to argue for a morally anchored conceptualisation which acknowledges that educators’ well-being is indivisible from the contexts in which it is experienced.

scholarly journals Occupational Well-Being in Beginning Early Childhood Educators of Hong Kong and the Prediction of Job-Related Factors: Variable-Centered and Person-Centered Approaches

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jian-Bin Li ◽  
An Yang ◽  
Rui Zhang ◽  
Tuen Yung Leung ◽  
Zhouxing Li
Keyword(s):  
Early Childhood ◽  
Regression Analysis ◽  
Hong Kong ◽  
Job Demands ◽  
Working Hours ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Early Childhood Educators ◽  
Job Resources ◽  
Spring Semester ◽  
Related Factors

The occupational well-being (OWB) of early childhood educators (ECEs) play a crucial role in their job performance, the development of a child, and the operation of early childhood education sectors. OWB of ECEs has been an increasing concern in recent years and this concern might be particularly salient for beginning ECEs given the multiple adaptive changes and challenges they encounter during the transition from training to teaching. However, research on the beginning ECEs’ OWB has been scarce. In this study, we employed both variable-centered and person-centered approaches to explore OWB and examined job demands and resources as predictors in 117 Hong Kong beginning ECEs (113 females, Mage = 21.71 years). They first reported job demands (i.e., class size, working hours, dealing with children with special education needs) and job resources (i.e., salary and job support) at the end of the first month of the fall semester upon working as in-service teachers. They then reported on four OWB variables (i.e., job satisfaction, work engagement, job stress, and job burnout) at the beginning of the spring semester. Results of the variable-centered analysis revealed that beginning ECEs reported medium or above-medium levels on the positive OWB indicators and medium or below-medium levels on the negative OWB indicators. Regression analysis found that despite some exceptions, job demands and job resources negatively (positively) and positively (negatively) predicted positive (negative) OWB indicators, respectively. Results of person-centered analysis suggested that the complex pattern of different OWB indicators could be categorized into two OWB profiles (medium well-being vs. relatively weak well-being – emotional exhaustion). Results of regression analysis showed that beginning ECEs with higher job demands were less likely, whereas those with more job resources were more likely, to be assigned to the medium well-being profile. These results inform which leverage points could be targeted to enhance a specific OWB indicator and identify who would be in dire need to enhance their OWB at the very beginning of their teaching career.

scholarly journals The Association Between Toddlers’ Temperament and Well-Being in Norwegian Early Childhood Education and Care, and the Moderating Effect of Center-Based Daycare Process Quality

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Catharina P. J. van Trijp ◽  
Ratib Lekhal ◽  
May Britt Drugli ◽  
Veslemøy Rydland ◽  
Suzanne van Gils ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Early Childhood ◽  
Early Childhood Education ◽  
Goodness Of Fit ◽  
Later Life ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Learning Opportunities ◽  
Process Quality ◽  
Life Outcomes ◽  
Childhood Education ◽  
Education And Care

Children who experience well-being are engaging more confidently and positively with their caregiver(s) and peers, which helps them to profit more from available learning opportunities and support current and later life outcomes. The goodness-of-fit theory suggests that children’s well-being might be a result of the interplay between their temperament and the environment. However, there is a lack of studies that examined the association between children’s temperament and well-being in early childhood education and care (ECEC), and whether this association is affected by ECEC process quality. Using a multilevel random coefficient approach, this study examines the association between toddlers’ (N = 1,561) temperament (shyness, emotionality, sociability, and activity) and well-being in Norwegian ECEC and investigates whether process quality moderates this association. Results reveal an association between temperament and well-being. Staff-child conflict moderates the association between shyness and well-being, and between activity and well-being. Moreover, high emotional behavioral support moderates the association between activity and well-being. Extra attention should be paid by the staff to these children’s needs.

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