It Started with a Blog: How International Connections were Made and Sustained in a Global Pandemic

Abstract

In a desperate 2020 Covid-inspired pivot, the early childhood team at Victoria University, Melbourne, introduced remote placements for their early childhood teacher students. This was represented through RPEC @ VU (Remote Placements in Early Childhood at Victoria University), and when an online blog post about RPEC@VU reached Ireland, the VU team were contacted by the early childhood team at Dublin City University, who were similarly introducing remote placement for their students. On opposite sides of the world, each team working in isolation in their own country, these educators connected to share ideas, insights and inspiration. From the redesign of thinking and practice in response to the pandemic, unforeseen opportunities were generated. This paper presents a case study exploring the shared values that brought the early childhood teams from these two institutions together and that continue to sustain the partnership. A vibrant international collaboration continues to be built across the two institutions.