How educators define their role: building ‘professional’ relationships with children and parents during transition to childcare: a case study

ABSTRACT

Using case study methodology including weekly focus group meetings and individual interviews, this article reports results of a study in a Canadian childcare centre in which four educators shared their attitudes and experiences on their role as educators and on building relationships with the children transitioning into their care and their parents. Analysis of the data reveals that educators are most concerned with their role as professionals, and that their interpretations of professionalism influences structural and organizational elements in the centre like shifts and schedules of the educators, but also their relationships with children in their care, and with parents.

KEYWORDS:

• Early childhood educators
• relationships
• professionalism
• childcare
• primary caregiving
• transitions

Acknowledgements

The author gratefully acknowledges the crucial contribution of Dr Margaret MacDonald in supervising this research, as well as the educators and families participating in this study.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.