scholarly journals Early childhood educators’ experiences in their work environments: Shaping (im)possible ways of being an educator?

Author(s):  
Tamara Cumming

Efforts to support early childhood workforce stability over many years, and across many national contexts have had limited success. Research and policy attention appears to be shifting to ways of supporting the sustainability of the early childhood workforce, and, ways that educators’ experiences in their work environments might be implicated in these issues. The purpose of this paper is to explore the complex interrelations between educators’ work environments and their experiences, as an entryway for thinking differently about workforce sustainability. A rhizoanalytic approach is used to explore one educator’s experiences in her work environment, through readings of visual, textual and affective data. The readings of (im)possible ways of being an educator shaped by this work environment,  are then used as prompts for thinking differently about workforce stability and sustainability. The paper concludes with calls for an approach to supporting workforce stability and sustainability, that is based on the recognition of the interrelatedness and mutual interests of children, educators, families and governments.

2020 ◽  
pp. 69-74
Author(s):  
Kim Stewart ◽  
Candace Gallagher

Feminist ways of being allow us to be vulnerable and willing to admit doubt and to live expanded views of early childhood education and teaching.These practices are characterized by a love ethic, attending to entanglements of heartmindbody. In this article, we rely on entangled narratives between ourselves and early childhood educators asking how valuing entangled relationships can expand creative possibilities within onlinelearning spaces. We draw from experiences within the newly established University of New Brunswick online bachelor of education in early childhood. Our research unfolds with a desire to value literate histories often silenced—sometimes lost—within standardized, institutional ways of being and becoming.


2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (4) ◽  
pp. 339-346
Author(s):  
Joanne Ailwood

Early childhood educators’ work is embedded in the complexities of relations and relationships, and this relational work is entangled in care. Care can be difficult to define and is often assumed as an inherent ‘good’ in education. In heavily feminised work environments such as early childhood education, it is easily assumed to be part of what naturally occurs amongst educators and children. However, I suggest that it is dangerous to assume we understand a concept as complex and value laden as care without also engaging in reflection and analysis about the complexity and multiplicity of care. In this paper I will explore some threads of care in early childhood education and care. I make use of Braidotti’s concept of cartographies to critically examine aspects of care in early childhood education. A cartography enables an exploration of power and knowledge in relation to care. Care, like classrooms, is messy, relational, in action, situated and contextual. This examination of care enables the perceived connection between care as a necessary ‘good’ to be contested. Instead, care is mapped across multiple threads and potentials, threads that might sometimes be warm and sustaining, while sometimes being oppressive and stressful.


Author(s):  
Janet Holland ◽  
Joe Holland

The aim of the study was to find ways to embrace the current realities of a global society and use it to build the intellectual capital of students from elementary school through college then into the work environment. This took a concerted effort examining the literature in regards to globalization, the intellectual capital needed for globalized work environments, and the implications for globalized teaching and training for adapting to current economies. This chapter is designed to help you begin your own examination of these issues with an eye toward educational solutions at all levels. A pilot study was conducted of international college students at a small midwestern university, to serve as a model for conducting your own needs analysis. The analysis should help you to begin thinking differently about the educational needs for globalized classrooms and work environments while building the needed intellectual capital to survive and thrive under changing conditions.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Corey Peltier ◽  
Tiffany K Peltier ◽  
Taylor Werthen ◽  
Andy Heuer

Access to high-quality resources is integral for educators to provide research-aligned mathematics instruction. Identifying the supplemental resources educators use to plan mathematics instruction can inform the ways researchers and organizations disseminate research-based practices. The goal of this study was to identify the frequency in which early childhood educators (i.e., pre-Kindergarten through third grade) reported using various resources to plan for mathematics instruction. Furthermore, we investigated whether differences were observed based on teacher factors (i.e., general or special education, route to certification, years of experience) and locale (i.e., rural, urban, suburban). We retained data from 917 teachers for data analysis. The three most frequently reported resources by educators were colleagues, Teachers Pay Teachers, and Google/Yahoo. The three least frequently reported resources were the typical outlets researchers use to reach teachers: What Works Clearinghouse, Teaching Exceptional Children, and Teaching Children Mathematics. General and special education teachers differed on their self-reported usage of five resources: colleagues, Google/Yahoo, teaching blogs, Teaching Exceptional Children, and the What Works Clearinghouse. Rural educators self-reported that they were less likely than suburban educators to use colleagues or specialists at the district to plan instruction. Implications for future research and practice are discussed.


2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Brianne A. Bruijns ◽  
Andrew M. Johnson ◽  
Jennifer D. Irwin ◽  
Shauna M. Burke ◽  
Molly Driediger ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Early childhood educators (ECEs) play a critical role in promoting physical activity (PA) among preschoolers in childcare; thus, PA-related training for ECEs is essential. The Supporting PA in the Childcare Environment (SPACE) intervention incorporated: 1. shorter, more frequent outdoor play sessions; 2. provision of portable play equipment; and, PA training for ECEs. An extension of the SPACE intervention (the SPACE-Extension) incorporated only the shorter, more frequent outdoor play periods component of the original SPACE intervention. The purpose of this study was to explore the individual impact of these interventions on ECEs’ PA-related self-efficacy and knowledge. Methods ECEs from the SPACE (n = 83) and SPACE-Extension (n = 31) were administered surveys at all intervention time-points to assess: self-efficacy to engage preschoolers in PA (n = 6 items; scale 0 to 100); self-efficacy to implement the intervention (n = 6 items); and, knowledge of preschooler-specific PA and screen-viewing guidelines (n = 2 items). A linear mixed effects model was used to analyze the impact of each intervention on ECEs’ self-efficacy and knowledge and controlled for multiple comparison bias. Results The SPACE intervention significantly impacted ECEs’ self-efficacy to engage preschoolers in PA for 180 min/day (main effect), and when outdoor playtime was not an option (interaction effect). Further, the interaction model for ECEs’ knowledge of the total PA guideline for preschoolers approached significance when compared to the main effects model. Participants within the SPACE-Extension did not demonstrate any significant changes in self-efficacy or knowledge variables. Conclusions Findings from this study highlight the benefit of ECE training in PA with regard to fostering their PA-related self-efficacy and knowledge. Future research should explore the impact of PA training for ECEs uniquely in order to determine if this intervention component, alone, can produce meaningful changes in children’s PA behaviours at childcare.


2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (14) ◽  
pp. 8008
Author(s):  
Seungbeom Kim ◽  
Yooneun Lee ◽  
Byungchul Choi

The office environment has changed rapidly due to the recent COVID-19 outbreak. Companies consider various types of remote work environments to contain the spread of the virus. Among them, a satellite office is a type of remote work environment where a number of employees are allocated to their nearest office. The benefits from satellite offices are twofold: The significant reduction of travel distance also reduces the amount of carbon emission and fuel consumption. In addition, dividing employees into smaller groups significantly reduces the potential risks of infection in the office. This paper addresses a satellite office allocation problem that considers social and environmental sustainability and infection control at work. In order to evaluate the effect of different satellite office allocation, quantitative measures are developed for the following three criteria: carbon emission, fuel consumption, and the probability of infection occurrence at work. Simulation experiments are conducted to investigate different scenarios of regional infection rate and modes of transportation. The results show that adopting satellite offices not only reduces carbon emission and fuel consumption, but also mitigates business disruption in the pandemic.


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