A study on the difference between happiness and teaching passion according to the empathy module of pre-service early childhood teachers

Author(s):  
Jeong Hwa Tak ◽  
2003 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 115-136 ◽  
Author(s):  
Clare Britt ◽  
Jennifer Sumsion

This article presents findings from a study undertaken by a pre-service early childhood teacher, that investigated the experiences of four beginning early childhood qualified teachers in primary school settings. The study explored the metaphors that these teachers used when describing their lived experience stories and analysed what these metaphors indicated about the discourses the teachers perceived were available to them, and where they had chosen to situate themselves within these discourses. Throughout the article, the metaphor of ‘border crossings' is used to highlight the focus within much of the literature on the difference and separation between early childhood and primary education. Data were generated through in-depth, open-ended interviews, a group discussion, visual representations and written material. The thematic recurrences and discursive positionings within the metaphors and narratives of the participants were deconstructed and critically analysed using a framework of feminist post-structuralism. In particular, this article explores the discursive positionings related to the teachers' movement within the borderland of early childhood education and primary education. It argues that early childhood teachers in primary schools are operating within an exciting space — an intersection between early childhood education and primary education. Rather than focusing on the difference and separation between these points, the focus shifts to working toward creating points of overlap, of connection — a shared borderland between early childhood education and primary education.


2001 ◽  
Vol 26 (2) ◽  
pp. 40-46
Author(s):  
Rod Chadbourne

This paper canvasses four possible reasons why some Australian early childhood teachers seem more supportive than some Australian English teachers of the professional standards for exemplary teaching developed by the National Board in the US. It explores whether the difference is due to the nature of the teachers, the needs of the learning area, the standards themselves, or the research processes. A key contention emerging from an analysis of the early childhood teachers’ response is that the US National Board standards should not be regarded as belonging to the Americans just because they were the first to document them. Certainly, we need to construct our own standards in order to develop a sense of commitment and ownership. But this does not mean having to start from scratch. Along with educators across the world, we already ‘own’ the values, skills, and knowledge documented in the USNational Board standards. What we can profitably do is take the US standards and build on them.


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