1. Identity

Jump to: Reflective Activities | Further Reading | Diagrams and Figures

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Reflective Activities

• To reflect upon what you feel the role of the early years practitioner should be
• To re-consider Maslow’s hierarchy of needs
• To reflect upon your own decision to work in ECEC
• To reflect upon perceptions of the characteristics of men, women and early years practitioners
• To reflect upon whether your practice and your philosophy are always compatible
• To reflect upon the ideas of ‘school readiness’ and ‘school unreadiness’
• To deepen your understanding of a child
• To understand our perceptions of children and their families
• To review the learning of a child in the light of Susan Hart’s Framework for Innovative Thinking

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Further Reading

Overview

A classic text which established the importance for classroom practice of considering the `self' of teachers and children is:

Hargreaves, D. H. (1972) Interpersonal Relationships and Education, London: Routledge & Kegan Paul.

Standing back further, a stimulating sociological analysis of these matters can be found in the following classic work:

Goffman, E. (1959) The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life, Garden City: Doubleday.

Another book which advocates self-study and which also give guidance on how to go about this is:

Mitchell, C., O'Reilly-Scalon K., and Weber, S. (Eds) (2003) Just Who Do We Think We Are?: Methodologies for Self-Study in Education, London: Routledge Falmer.

The long-term consequences of education and schooling are quantified in:

Feinstein, L., Vorhaus, J., and Sabates, R. (2008) Learning through Life: Future Challenges. Foresight Mental Capital and Wellbeing Project, London: The Government Office for Science.

Fabian, H. (2002) Children Starting School: A Guide to Successful Transitions and Transfers for Teachers and Assistants, London: David Fulton.

Jordan, A., Carlile, O. and Stack, A. (2008) Approaches to Learning: A Guide for Teachers, Maidenhead: Open University Press.

Wood, D. (1997) How Children Think and Learn: The Social Contexts of Cognitive Development, London: Wiley-Blackwell Oxford: Blackwell.

Whitebread, D. (Ed.) (2000) The Psychology of Teaching and Learning in the Primary School, London: Routledge Falmer.

Across the world, there are also significant attempts to take stock and review everything that is known about learning. Bransford, Brown and Cocking's book is one influential outcome.

Bransford, J. D., Brown, A. L. and Cocking, R. R. (Eds.) (2000) How People Learn: Brain, Mind, Experience and School, Washington, DC: National Academy Press.

Chapter 7 of Alexander (Ed.) offers the findings on learning and development of the Cambridge Primary Review, the most comprehensive enquiry into English primary education for half a century.

Alexander, R. (Ed) (2010) Children, their World, their Education. Final Report and Recommendations of the Cambridge Primary Review. Abingdon: Routledge.

The identity of early years practitioners is considered in:

Dalli, C. and Urban, M. (2008) (Eds) Editorial, in Journal of the European Early Childhood Research Association, Special Issue. Professionalism in Early Childhood Education and Care. 16 (2) pp. 131- 3.

Kelchtermans, G. (1993) Getting the story, understanding the lives: From career stories to teacher’s professional development, Teacher and Teacher Education. 9 (5/6), pp. 443-456.

Lloyd, E. and Hallet, E. (2010) Professionalizing the early childhood workforce in England: Work in progress or missed opportunity?, Contemporary Issues in the Early Years. 11(1), pp. 75-87.

Oberhuemer, P. (2005) Conceptualising the early childhood pedagogue: Policy approaches and issues of professionalism. European Early Childhood Education Research Journal, 9, pp. 57-72.

Peeeters, J. (2008) The Construct of a New Profession: A European perspective in ECEC. Amsterdam: SWP Publications.

McGillvray, G. (2008) Nannies, nursery nurses and early years professionals: Constructions of professional identity in the early years workforce, European Early Childhood research Journal. Special Issue: Professionalism in Early Childhood Education and Care, 16(2): 242-254

Miller, L and Cable, C. (2011) Professionalism in the Early Years. Abingdon: Hodder Education.

Moss, P. (2008) The Democratic and Reflective Professional: Rethinking and Reforming the Early Years Workforce, In: Miller, L. and Cable C., (Eds) Professionalism in the Early Years. Abingdon: Hodder Education. 

For texts which provide an excellent introduction and overview to early years practice and provision see:

Nutkins, S., McDonald, C., and Stephen, M., (2013) Early Childhood Education and Care: An Introduction, London: Sage.

Parker-Rees, R. and Leeson, C. (2010) Early Childhood Studies: an introduction to the study of children's worlds and children's lives (3^rd edition), Exeter: Learning Matters.

Waller, T. (Ed.) (2009) An Introduction to Early Childhood: A Multi-disciplinary Approach (2^nd edition), London: Sage.

Related articles

• Men in childcare
• National strategies
• Neuroscientific evidence

Useful links

• Scottish Early Years key documents
• Scottish Professional Standards
• Welsh Professional Standards
• Welsh Early Years Workforce Plan
• English Early Years Teacher Standards
• English Teacher Standards
• OECD Starting Strong
• EPPE and EPPSE reports
• Hedges et al, Early Years Curriculum: Funds of Knowledge as a Conceptual Framework for Children’s Interests
• Funds of Knowledge
• Brodie, Learning Stories
• Karabon, They’re lovin’it: how preschool children mediated their funds of knowledge into dramatic play
• Tapestry
• 2simple
• Mitey - Men in Early Years
• World Forum Foundation - Men in Early Years
• UK Government Call for more men in Early Years

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Diagrams and Figures

• Figure 1.1 Maslow's hierarchy of needs