Supporting children’s thinking in the foundation stage: practitioners’ views on the role of initial training and continuing professional development

Abstract

The English Curriculum Guidance for the Foundation Stage refers to the importance of supporting the development of young children’s thinking, a teaching role that Kite suggests should be seen as the major focus for education. This paper draws on data from the Froebel Research Fellowship Project, Ownership and Autonomy in Early Learning, on the extent to which a sample of 80 early childhood professionals feel prepared for this aspect of their work. A significant number of participants, particularly of those with qualified teacher status, could not remember learning about children’s thinking during their initial training. Participants valued continuing professional development (CPD) that was practical, that provided opportunities to visit other settings, that involved participation in research and that made use of teams and mentors. They also drew distinctions between what might be most valuable on the basis of practitioners’ experience or level of qualification. We conclude that future training should make more explicit reference to ‘thinking’, that engagement in CPD forms part of a benign cycle that may predispose participants to see CPD as valuable, and that it is most valued when participants see its particular relevance to them. It is suggested that future CPD will need to take greater account of the different needs and experiences of early childhood professionals, and of their senses of personal and professional identity.

Acknowledgements

This paper draws on data from Phases 2 and 3 of the Froebel Research Fellowship Project Ownership and Autonomy in Early Learning, which is funded by the Froebel Research Committee and the National Froebel Foundation. The author gratefully acknowledges the support of Hiroko Fumoto, Project Researcher, and David Hargreaves, Project Director, in the preparation of this paper. The author is also extremely grateful to the practitioners who participated in this study, and who gave freely of their time, and their own thinking.