ECEC Professionalization – challenges of developing professional standards

ABSTRACT

Within the early childhood education system, early childhood teachers are the weak element in two hierarchies, the governance hierarchy and the epistemological hierarchy. From the perspective of early childhood teacher professionalization, this is a paradox because professionalism is intrinsically linked to a relatively high degree of professional autonomy and control over one’s work. However, professional autonomy must be built on a set of professional standards – or commons – that clarify the values, priorities and knowledge that are shared among the professionals. In this project, a researcher (the author) and a group of early childhood teachers have worked out a set of professional standards for early childhood teachers, with Norway as context of analysis. The article aims to conceptualise what early childhood teachers view as the core of their professional practice. It conceptualises the attempt to develop professionalism ‘from within’ that professional practice, expressing professional standards from the perspective of professionals.

KEYWORDS:

• ECEC professionalism
• early childhood teacher role
• professionalization
• professionalism
• professional knowledge
• early childhood education

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

ORCID

Anton Havnes http://orcid.org/0000-0002-9469-5039

Notes

1. The ECEC teachers’ union (which is also the school teachers’ union) has developed a shared set of professional ethical standards for ECEC and primary and secondary school teachers (in Norwegian): https://www2.utdanningsforbundet.no/upload/Lærerprof_etiske_plattform_plakat%20A3%20bm_ny%2031.10.12.pdf Retrieved 13 November 2017.

2. UK: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/early-years-teachers-standards Retrieved 13 November 2017.

3. Australia: https://www.aitsl.edu.au. Retrieved 13 November 2017.

4. New Zealand: https://education.govt.nz/school/running-a-school/employing-and-managing-staff/collective-agreements/kindergarten-teachers-head-teachers-and-senior-teachers-collective-agreement/appendix-b-national-professional-standards-for-kindergarten-teachers/ Retrieved 13 November 2017.

5. At the outset three ECEC teachers from each institution were invited to participate. In the course of the project there were some changes in the group. Some moved on to other institutions and in some of the institutions more ECEC teachers took part than in others. Ten ECEC teachers are co-authors of the final set of professional standards.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by The Research Council of Norway [grant number 249890/H20].