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A day in the life of an early childhood teacher: identifying the confronting issues and challenges that arise

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journal contribution
posted on 2014-06-01, 00:00 authored by Sarah OhiSarah Ohi
Recent emphasis upon Early Childhood as an educational priority for the Australian Government has resulted in increases in funding, government initiatives, course providers and the introduc- tion of new policies to the sector in order to improve the quality of early childhood education. The study reported here investigated the "reality" of what it means to be an Early Childhood Teacher within this changing context and identified the roles and responsibilities and the associated chal- lenges. A case study involving observation and interviews with five Bachelor qualified Teachers from varied early childhood settings was undertaken in order to gain knowledge about their ex- periences and perspectives on their work. The data were analyzed using a grounded theory ap- proach involving the identification of key themes and issues about the nature of teachers' work. The findings revealed that in their everyday practice teachers played a complex array of roles that required them to contribute far more than just their teaching skills and knowledge. They were expected to concurrently enact the roles of educator, leader, advocate, communicator, counsellor and administrator whilst juggling everyday challenges including a "lack of time", the need for "further support and more resources" and "building successful partnerships with parents".

History

Journal

Creative education

Volume

5

Season

Special issue

Pagination

1008-1018

Location

Irvine, California

Open access

  • Yes

ISSN

2151-4771

Language

eng

Publication classification

C1 Refereed article in a scholarly journal

Copyright notice

2014, Scientific Research Publishing

Issue

11

Publisher

Scientific Research Publishing