Abstract
Until recently in Scotland, there has been little in the way of coherent and consistent
policies for the pre-service preparation of early years practitioners nor for their ongoing
continuous professional development. The New Standard for Childhood Practice and the
Early Years Framework address exactly these issues but new policies in themselves do
not improve practice. Turning policy into practice is notoriously difficult as it often requires
practitioners to reflect upon and change long-held beliefs and conceptions of their role
and the workplace - and uncomfortable and often unwelcome strategy. In Scotland,
recent educational initiatives have invested significantly in staff development programmes
designed to introduce new ways of working. In this instance, those charged with
implementing the new early years policy decided that such a programme would be more
effective if based on an understanding of the needs and aspirations of practitioners and
managers themselves and an awareness of the provision already made. They therefore
commissioned a team of researchers from the University of Strathclyde to investigate the
needs of and document the continuing professional development provision available to
early years managers and practitioners. Drawing on documentary analysis and two phases
of evidence gathering from practitioners, their managers and local authority officers, this
paper presents some of the key findings from the review, set within the context of the early
years debate and the government's aspirations for the sector.
Original language | English |
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Publication status | Unpublished - 2009 |
Event | 19th EECERA annual conference: diversities in early childhood education - Strasbourg, Duration: 26 Aug 2009 → 29 Aug 2009 |
Conference
Conference | 19th EECERA annual conference: diversities in early childhood education |
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City | Strasbourg, |
Period | 26/08/09 → 29/08/09 |
Keywords
- continuing professional development
- scottish early years workers
- policy
- practice