A productive system of early years professional development

Abstract

This paper uses the concept of the productive system to identify some of the tensions between the stages of professional development of early years practitioners and the relationships between the various actors within the system of professional formation in England. In the context of the recommendations of the Nutbrown Review a series of challenges facing early years professionalism and the design and delivery of continuous professional development (CPD) are discussed. These include issues that relate to the predominance of external influence on the nature of early years professional knowledge, the significance of the early years setting in supporting practitioner learning and influences on workplace learning processes. Some strategies for strengthening practitioner influence over the productive system are briefly outlined, which relate specifically to how practitioners engage with the challenge of how CPD is organised and located as part of an early years professional identity.

Keywords:

• professionalism
• CPD
• workforce
• Nutbrown
• productive systems