Building a model of early years professionalism from practitioners’ perspectives

Abstract

Practitioner voice has been absent from debates regarding what constitutes professional behaviour and practice in the early years. This research identifies and uses the professional knowledge of a group of early years educators to create a typology of professionalism. The typology comprises seven inter-related dimensions of early years professionalism: 1) knowledge, 2) qualifications, training and professional development, 3) skills, 4) autonomy, 5) values 6) ethics and 7) rewards. This typology of professionalism was derived during a two-phase study and aims to contribute to ongoing debates about what constitutes professional practice within and across the early years (birth to five years). Phase 1 comprised a sample of 12 early years educators in England, from a range of professional backgrounds, and Phase 2 returned for further reflections to nine of this sample, six years later. They talked about their best work for children and their families and how this developed over time. Their perceptions of children’s needs were at the heart of their professionalism and they interpreted policy and curriculum in ways that they believed met those needs. Their views on professionalism remained constant during both phases of research despite a shifting policy scene in early years.