Preschool Teacher Education in Sweden and Australia: The Importance of Reflection for Understanding Context
Increasingly, researchers believe that reflection is a vital process for all professionals to develop competence and understanding of their field (Miller et al., Developing early years practice. David Fulton, London, 2005). It is, therefore, important tha
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Preschool Teacher Education in Sweden and Australia: The Importance of Reflection for Understanding Context Susanne Garvis and Sonja Sheridan
Abstract Increasingly, researchers believe that reflection is a vital process for all professionals to develop competence and understanding of their field (Miller et al., Developing early years practice. David Fulton, London, 2005). It is, therefore, important that early childhood educators are equipped with the capabilities to engage in reflective practice, allowing them to extend their professional knowledge, skills, and competences. The skills for reflective practice are often developed during engagement with practice itself in preschool teacher education. During this time, pre-service teachers have the opportunity to learn the processes to reflect between theory and practice setting them up well for their professional lives. This chapter shares snapshots, from a Swedish and Australian context, about the importance of sustainable service learning in high quality preschools to encourage reflective practice. The chapter specifically focuses on the youngest of children in care (infants and toddlers) and shares key findings related to agency and professional knowledge. Keywords Toddlers • Infants • Reflection • Agency • Autonomy • Professional learning
A Snapshot of an Early Childhood Context In the Australian early childhood center, children have started to arrive at 8:30 am for the toddler program. A student teacher has been volunteering at the early childhood center as part of a university program. A toddler (1.5 years) is outside playing in the sandpit, raking the sand with a small stick. The student teacher walks over and begins to ask the small child questions. The child does not speak and looks at the face of the teacher. He looks down at the stick again. Another child is playing in the corner and moving a big, round, plastic circle. “Should we go and see what
S. Garvis, Ph.D. () • S. Sheridan, Ph.D. Department of Education, Communication and Learning, University of Gothenburg, Läroverksgatan 15, Gothenburg 40530, Sweden e-mail: [email protected] © Springer International Publishing Switzerland 2017 K.L. Heider (ed.), Service Learning as Pedagogy in Early Childhood Education, Educating the Young Child 11, DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-42430-9_3
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Ella is doing?” The boy looks around and then picks up his stick. He walks over and looks at Ella (aged 2.5 years) who has placed a seat at the edge of the sandpit. Ella starts to tap the edge of the seat as a drum, and the small child joins in, hitting with his stick. In the Swedish preschool, some of the children start as early as 6:30 am, and most of them have arrived when breakfast is served at 8:00 am. A student teacher is doing her service work practice at the preschool as part of the university preschool teacher education program. She is engaged with a small group of children who are playing in the building room. Anna (aged 3.5 years) has just arrived. She runs into the building room want
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