Professional role and identity of Icelandic preschool teachers: effects of stakeholders’ views

In this article, we explore the reality of Icelandic preschool teachers who are, as in most other countries, predominantly female. The gendered nature of the role and the current identity adopted by preschool teachers appear to impact on their perceived status and professionalism. In this process, stakeholders in early childhood education (ECE), as well as the preschool teachers themselves, play important parts. The question that underlies the paper is: ‘How do the views of preschool teachers and stakeholders in ECE affect the preschool teachers’ professional identity?’ The data used to answer the question are from focus group research carried out with preschool teachers and stakeholders in ECE in one community in Iceland. These stakeholders, besides preschool teachers and staff within the preschools, were parents, professionals at the municipal preschool office and politicians. The theoretical perspective informing the methodology of the research was ‘symbolic interactionism’ and the concept of ‘democratic professionalism’ was used as an aspirational framework to analyse the data. The findings reveal connections between the ideology relating to the preschool teachers’ educational role, their limited leadership and the gendered views of stakeholders. At the end of the paper, implications and recommendations for preschool teachers are suggested.     

Icelandic parents' views on the national policy on early childhood education

Considerable change has taken place in Icelandic early childhood education during the past few decades. Preschool, from being geared primarily towards children with evident social needs, has become all but universal. The aim of this study was to shed light on Icelandic parents' views on their children's preschool education and to examine how their views harmonize with the nation's preschool policy. The participants in this study, 43 parents of five‐ and six‐year‐old children in three preschools in Reykjavík, participated in focus‐group interviews concerning the preschool curriculum. The results indicate that the parents' main expectation of the preschools was that they should support the children's social development; the way in which the preschool day was organized, and the content of the curriculum seemed to be less important to them. Parents wanted their children to have the opportunity not only to enjoy themselves as individuals, but to learn self‐reliance and respect for other people. Care‐giving and attentiveness of the staff were more important than the teaching of knowledge and skills. These views are compatible with the social pedagogical tradition, the Icelandic Preschool Act, and the National Curriculum Guidelines for Preschools.     

‘Parents don’t want their children to speak their home language’: how do educators negotiate partnerships with Chinese parents regarding their children’s use of home language and English in early childhood settings?

This study investigated five Australian early childhood educators’ negotiation of the complex terrain of working in partnership with Chinese parents regarding their children’s language usage in early childhood settings. Semi-structured interviews were undertaken to explore educators’ views on children’s language usage in early childhood settings, their perception of Chinese parents’ language expectations and their strategies in resolving the tension between parental expectation and educator views on children’s language usage under the current regulatory frameworks. Educators reported that many Chinese parents expected their children to use only English in early childhood settings. Such a practice would not align with educators’ views of permitting children to use languages freely. The educators developed different strategies to address the tension between their desire to achieve positive outcomes for children and their need to work in partnership with families. Implications for the further preparation of educators are discussed.     

Robust hope,democracy and early childhood education

This paper discusses a recent Australian study of boys' education using case studies to determine successful practices. It focuses on an early childhood site where access to ‘discourses of power’ for students and parents and a valuing of students' ‘action knowledge’ created a particular democratic culture achieving improved outcomes for boys. The data are drawn from focus groups with families, interviews with educators, conversations with children and on‐site observations over two days. The findings are discussed in terms of those factors deriving from Henry Giroux's work on democracy and hope. In addition, we build on the work of Giroux by discussing the site as an exemplar of what we have come to call ‘robust hope’.     

Voices of the Minority: Japanese Immigrant Mothers’ Perceptions of Preschools in the United States

Japanese immigrants have been living in the United States for nearly 150 years. Yet, despite the continued presence of this population, there is not a lot of research to suggest why Japanese families have not become more active participants in preschools across the United States (US). In an attempt to understand this phenomenon, this paper examined the voices of nine Japanese immigrant mothers living in the US and articulates their major concerns and ideas; it also provides suggestions to early childhood professionals regarding these insights. Fundamental to this study is the belief that both Japanese parents and preschool teachers need to make a sincere effort to learn and employ communicative strategies and to acquire fundamental knowledge for building effective relationships. Data were drawn from semi-structured interviews and conducted over 12 months of fieldwork. Implications for early childhood professionals are explicated and briefly discussed.     

Moral Functioning: Navigating the Messy Landscape of Values in Finnish Preschools

This article employs a narrative approach to explore educators’ moral functioning in Finnish preschools. Our study is theoretically inspired by notions drawn from feminist and sociocultural studies, according to which education is understood as an entirely moral phenomenon. Within a holistic framework, moral functioning is understood as a concept that intertwines educators’ moral thinking, their actions, the situation, and the cultural context. The study aims to answer the question: What kind of moral functioning emerges from educators’ narratives in a Finnish preschool context? Research material was produced from four group interviews and interpreted through narrative analysis. Our findings reveal that four different moral layers evolved, overlapped, and intertwined in educators’ narratives: what works in a preschool context; what provides good for people; what the rules say; and what is possible to achieve in an educator’s position. We present these findings in detail and discuss their theoretical, methodological, and pedagogical implications.     

Morality in parents’ stories of preschool choice: narrating identity positions of good parenting

This article aims to contribute to our understanding of how moral aspects of parents’ choices of preschool play a part in the processes of marketisation and privatisation of childcare in Sweden. The paper explores parents’ narratives of preschool choice as moral claims of parental identities. The analysed data are based on a study of how parents make sense of their preschool choice during life-story interviews. Our results point out good parenting as having to do with making distinctions between what is ‘good and bad’ and ‘right and wrong’ regardless of whether the choices concern preschools or the behaviour of preschool teachers and parents. Culturally available discourses become visible through the making of these distinctions in ways that ultimately point to the subject position of parents as particular choosers as related to a prevailing discourse of parental responsibility.     

TRANSITION TO SCHOOL: THE EXPERIENCES OF CANADIAN AND IMMIGRANT FAMILIES OF CHILDREN WITH AUTISM SPECTRUM DISORDERS

Transition to school for children with autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) places demands on children, parents, and school settings. The unique experiences of parents from diverse backgrounds have not been studied extensively. This qualitative study explored the experiences of 5 Canadian and 5 immigrant families during the transition to school for their children with ASDs. Parent perceptions of support systems during this transition and their experiences with preschool and elementary school staff were analyzed to understand their experiences. Thematic analyses of parent interviews revealed that parents perceived the quality of care during preschool as more supportive than the care received in elementary school. A variety of resources, such as familial, educational, and community support, seemed to help some Canadian and immigrant families in different ways. The transition to school experiences of parents of children with ASDs has important implications for school psychologists who facilitate and mediate parent–school partnerships and interagency collaboration.     

Teacher perspectives on partnerships on families of children with autism

The success of students with disabilities in school and community largely relies on productive family professional partnerships (FPPs). The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA, 2004) recognises the importance of family collaboration to student success by mandating that parents be involved in the Individualised Education Plan (IEP) process as full team members. While several previous studies examined the perspectives of parents of children with disabilities on partnerships with educators, less research exists on teacher perspectives on family professional collaborations. Additionally, there are even fewer studies that focus on teacher perspectives on partnerships with parents of children with autism, a disability category which continues to increase in prevalence. The present study contributes to the literature by examining teacher perspectives on factors that build and hinder positive partnerships with families of children with autism. Researchers surveyed 25 Special Education teachers and conducted additional individual interviews and open-ended questionnaires to examine teachers' first-hand experiences. Findings identified four common themes that educators felt helped and hindered collaborative relationships with families. Study results may lead to the development of specific family professional collaboration strategies that can be implemented and discussed in school districts, teacher trainings, pre-service teacher education programs and family workshops.     

Group size and organisational conditions for children’s learning in preschool: a teacher perspective

Background:?There is a limited amount of research about group size in preschool, and how it impacts on teachers’ working conditions and their ability to support children’s learning and knowledge development in line with curriculum intentions.

Purpose:?From a perspective on quality, this article examines the organisational conditions for children’s learning in preschool in relation to group size. The questions at issue are: how do teachers explain how they organise the child group and the learning environment in preschool, and why?

Sample:?The sample consists of 12 preschools from different parts of Sweden. The preschools selected for the study are stratified in order to represent small and large group sizes in Swedish preschools as defined by the Swedish National Agency for Education. The sample contains both urban and rural regions and represents districts that differ geographically, demographically, ethnically, and which include varied socioeconomic structures. The 12 preschools had children in three age groupings: 1–3, 3–5 or 1–5. The number of children in the participating preschools ranged from 12 children to 45 children, with seven of the preschools having more than 30 children in their groups.

Design and method:?The article is based on interactionist perspectives, Bronfenbrenner’s ecological systems theory, a critical ecology of the early childhood profession, theories of children’s learning, and four dimensions of pedagogical quality. Together, these theoretical perspectives contribute to an understanding of the relationships between policy issues, educational goals, group size and teachers’ competence in organising and creating conditions for children’s learning. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with two teachers from each of the 12 preschools. The interviews lasted between 40–60 minutes and were recorded and transcribed verbatim. The analytical process was conducted in three steps and can be described as an analytical process of abduction. The four dimensions of pedagogical quality were used as analytical lenses to discern and understand critical aspects related to the teachers’ understanding of group size.

Result: Irrespective of group size, most of the children participate in different group constellations throughout the day, some organised by the teachers and some by the children themselves. Teachers’ competence to organise the children in such ways that good conditions for learning were created, differed between preschools, and depended on the teachers’ approach, which can be described as either intentional or unintentional learning.

Conclusion: Teachers’ organisational approaches influence the quality of the preschool and conditions for children’s learning in distinct ways.     

Preschool Movement Education in Turkey: Perceptions of Preschool Administrators and Parents

The purpose of this study was to examine the perceptions of preschool administrators and parents about preschool movement education and movement practices in preschools. Participants were 8 preschool administrators and 21 parents from 8 randomly selected private preschools in one of the municipalities in Ankara, Turkey. Semi-structured interviews, field visits, and observations were conducted, and written documents were collected. The findings indicate that preschool administrators and parents have limited content knowledge in movement education. Movement education practices were not aligned with physical-education goals for these schools. Children’s participation in organized sport activities is valued more as an extracurricular activity by administrators and parents. Limited indoor/outdoor spaces for movement activities seem to be among the limiting factors for movement education practices. To conclude, there is an immediate need to improve preschool administrators’ and parents’ knowledge of movement education and to enhance preschool facilities to ensure quality movement education.     

Preschool + school + communication = What for educator relationships?

Communication between educators in preschool and school settings has been promoted consistently in research literature and policy as a practice to enhance children’s transition to school. Underlying the practice are the assumptions that communication between educators is (a) a way of building on children’s learning and responding to their diverse needs and interests as they start school and (b) a means of developing positive relationships between educators. Whilst it is an advocated practice, there has been little research about the consequences of preschool–school communication or exploration of the ways in which the practice might support positive transition experiences. This paper specifically addresses what happens for educators as a result of preschool–school interactions. The communication experiences of preschool and school educators reported in an online questionnaire provide important insights into the impact of intersetting communications, particularly on educator relationships. Most outcomes for relationships between educators in preschool and school settings were reported to be positive. However, the results contest the notion that preschool–school communication automatically results in the development of positive relationships; relationships which support collaboration between educators as children start school.     

Under-threes’ mathematical learning – teachers’ perspectives

This project highlights preschool teachers’ views of toddlers’ learning in mathematics. The Swedish national curriculum covers even the youngest children who are 1–3?years old. Interesting questions are thus: what should mathematics be for this age group and how should preschool teachers work with maths to achieve the curriculum objectives? Data were collected through interviews with six preschool teachers working in four different preschools. The data show that the teachers emphasize the body as very important for the learning process, which means that for these children, it is not a matter of simply talking about mathematical concepts, but experiencing them bodily. The teachers also report that they now pay more attention than previously to what material the children use and how they interact with it. They are more aware of how they organize and offer the various materials in the preschool and how this influences the way children use them and, consequently, their learning processes.     

The preschool bathroom: making ‘problem bodies’ and the limit of the disciplinary regime over children

In this paper we study the effects of power in a bathroom, which is a rarely analysed space in preschools, using empirical examples from a semi-ethnographic study conducted in New South Wales, Australia. We demonstrate that educators’ understanding and practices mostly consider their own positioning in discourses and come short in accounting for children’s practices in and expressed views on the bathroom. Educators also remain distant from children’s bodily experiences. The interplay of the open architectural design of the bathroom space and dominant discourses operating in the preschool constitute some children as ‘problem bodies’ apparently requiring (and justifying) direct intervention. Following this reasoning we argue that the surveillance, regularisation and normalisation in the bathroom is far from total, which leads us to question the adequacy of understanding the bathroom as forming a part of a modern (disciplinary) institution.     

Preschool–home cooperation in change

The purpose of this study is to bring forth preschool teachers' and parents' views on both established and future forms of cooperation between the preschool and home. The empirical sample is based on both individual and focus‐group interviews. Results show that cooperation mainly revolves around the individual child. The form of cooperation that is the least established among both preschool teachers and parents tends to be the parent council. It is concluded that it is important for preschool teachers to provide varied and rich forms of cooperation, as different forms of cooperation appeal to different parents. With a wide range, there is a possibility to reach all parents.     

University–preschool partnership and workplace-based learning: a collaborative ‘third space’ or no space at all?

The article examines the aims of the workplace-based learning of prospective preschool teachers in Iceland and associated cooperative practices between the University of Iceland and preschools. A ‘third space’ of collaboration between these two sites is considered necessary if the education of preschool student teachers is to be effective. Collaboration between the university and preschools as presented in the university’s policy documents and as implemented in practice will be investigated and compared to the literature on collective third space. Implications for both policy and practice are discussed.     

Teachers' views of their pupils with profound and multiple learning difficulties

This paper explores the perceptions of a small group of teachers of pupils with profound and multiple learning disabilities (PMLD) in north‐eastern England. The focus of the paper is their views of their pupils who have PMLD. A total of 14 teachers were interviewed, both individually and in small groups over a four‐year period. This paper stems from the individual interviews, which were validated at the group interview stage. Through the interviews we hear how neurological, developmental and co‐existence issues help shape teachers’ views of their pupils. Thirty years ago this group of pupils received their education from the Department of Health; today they are in schools and we hear the teachers in this project reflect on their students’ learning needs in positive and professional ways. What emerges through this research is the need for teacher educators to support professional development experiences that enable teachers to integrate the distinct perspectives of parents and the more contemporary theories of disability into their understandings of this group of learners. In this way, teachers of pupils with PMLD would build upon their professional knowledge base to include wider parental and societal perspectives.