PhD researcher needs your support to understand more about curriculum and pedagogy

Jessamine Giese, a PhD candidate at the Queensland University of Technology (QUT), needs the support of the early childhood education and care (ECEC) sector to learn more about how teams of educators formulate curriculum and pedagogy in long day care (LDC) settings. 

Ms Giese is seeking to connect with LDC services with a minimum of 40 licenced places to support her study, which will involve sharing documents about how their team works and having educators participate in an online focus group for one to two hours.

Her topic of study was chosen after reviewing the available literature and research on the way that LDC teams negotiate the implementation of curriculum and pedagogy on a daily basis, and finding a gap, particularly around how teams of educators in LDC (across positions and qualifications) work together to work with and implement curriculum. 

As an experienced ECEC leader, Ms Giese understands the importance of these functions and negotiations in an LDC context. 

“Over the past 10 years I have had the privilege of holding leadership roles across LDC centres, working alongside close-knit teams with colleagues who are passionate for quality care and education,” she explained.

LDC environments in Australia, she continued, are unique, with teams made up of educators with various qualifications, experiences, titles and roles. 

“Unlike in school contexts where all teachers are required to hold a degree, prior to 2012 this was not the case in LDC settings,” Ms Giese continued. 

“Since 2012, new legislation has required a minimum of one four-year early childhood qualified teacher to be employed in LDC settings, who works alongside educators with different levels of qualifications (e.g., Diploma and Certificate III).”

In Queensland, the home state for the research, this change has been significant, because prior to 2012 there was no requirement for a teacher to be employed in LDC services. 

“In my experience, I have observed the creation of a hierarchy of roles across positions and qualification types as teams of educators in LDC services navigate these qualification changes,” she continued. 

“Although there is a clear expectation for educators to work in harmonised ways, how this looks in practice in terms of distributing responsibilities and making curriculum and pedagogy decisions is sometimes challenging for centres to put into practice. “

While the importance of collaboration and collaborative teaching is well known in an education context, “more insights are needed about how teams with different qualifications, positions and experiences work in practice, with responsibilities that are, at times, blurred”. 

In exchange for sharing their perspectives participants will receive a summary of the research findings, and the knowledge that their experiences may benefit other LDC services, inform future policy directions, and lead to further positive outcomes for young children. 

To express an interest in participating in the study, or for further information, please contact Ms Giese via email to [email protected]