Features
‘Teachers shared, and experienced, their inner transformation of their own perspectives and beliefs.’
Inspiring professional development for Early Childhood educators Nicola Weir reports on a ‘Reading and Action Research Forum’ It is well known that the professionalism and quality of teachers has direct influence over the quality of learning for students, thus making professional development a key factor in effective leading and managing of a school. Set in the international kindergarten of Yew Chung International School Hong Kong, catering for almost 550 families and hosting over 70 staff from around the world, we found professional development aimed at bringing about ‘best practice’ to be challenging. We had teachers from all corners of the world, as well as local Cantonese teachers, co-teaching of East and West, along with bilingual delivery of our programme on a daily basis. It is evident that early childhood educators from around the world bring with them their own beliefs and experience of what they deem ‘quality early childhood education’. We have also encountered the varying tertiary qualifications offered to early childhood educators worldwide, as well as the breadth of culturally diverse views Winter
Summer |
| 2017
on young children’s learning. With teachers from around the world, we asked questions such as: How does leadership provide a platform for such a varying group of teachers to journey together, in providing an effective ‘international education’ for young children? How do teachers of such diverse beliefs about how young children learn, and what values they hold to in their practices, come together to provide a ‘common’ approach within a school, and yet bring with them their unique qualities, allowing children to experience ‘international’ views and thinking through the building of relationships with their individual teachers? How does leadership collaboratively and collectively journey the ‘school’s vision’, while receiving willing participation and engagement from all stakeholders? The diversity of practice and beliefs were particularly evident to us in our teachers’ varying views on the role of play in learning. In our ‘international’ setting in Hong Kong, the
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