inclusion Challenging discrimination Seeking equity Honoring children’s human rights equality Working in partnership:experiences and critical reflection Glenda Mac Naughton Professor of Early Childhood Studies Director, Centre for Equity and Innovation in Early Childhood, Faculty of Education, the University of Melbourne

inclusion Challenging discrimination Seeking equity Honoring children’s human rights equality Partnerships matter Quality early childhood care and education grows from strong partnerships between: –Policymakers, practitioners, service providers, funders, local communities, parents, children and early childhood staff AND researchers. –Partnerships don’t just happen they have to structured and supported by policy

inclusion Challenging discrimination Seeking equity Honoring children’s human rights equality Researching for change - how research can help What we know with relative certainty - inclusion, diversity, equality and young children –Children can learn to challenge discrimination, seek equity and honor human rights Changing conceptualisation: shift from child as innocent to child as active knower and constructor of social world Changing knowledge base: –early years as a critical time for identity formation and formation of social and cultural attitudes –capacity of young children to grow prejudice or grow respect is now well-established –impact of prejudice on children’s life and learning is of significant concern.

inclusion Challenging discrimination Seeking equity Honoring children’s human rights equality This provides us with: –an opportunity: to intervene at a critical time in the formation of social and cultural attitudes to make a difference and –a challenge: how to most effectively intervene to reduce beginning prejudice and its negative effects Discussions? Diversity resources? Direct experiences?

inclusion Challenging discrimination Seeking equity Honoring children’s human rights equality What we know with relative certainty –Early childhood professionals can make a difference to how and what young children learn –But we need to shift our ways of thinking about early childhood professionals - from technocratic models of training to transformative models of professional learning

inclusion Challenging discrimination Seeking equity Honoring children’s human rights equality What works for & against creating & sustaining change Technocratic models technician taught how to do practice to deliver quality and policytechnician taught how to do practice to deliver quality and policy –Content driven by top-down policy imperatives how to implement policy skill-based –Delivery delivered by experts to individual –Format Single-shot Short term –Effect deprofessionalisation guilt overload resistance surface changes in practice Transformative models early childhood professional transforming quality policy and practice through being critically reflective practitionerearly childhood professional transforming quality policy and practice through being critically reflective practitioner –Content informed by policy exploring issues and possibilities inquiry-based –Delivery teacher as researchers learning communities led initially by critical friend/colleagues –Format Ongoing Long term –Effect re-professionalisation passion empowerment commitment deep- frame-breaking changes

inclusion Challenging discrimination Seeking equity Honoring children’s human rights equality Transformative models - research, policy and practice partnerships Embedded researcher - singleEmbedded researcher - single-service or network based –Researcher as critical friend –Long term relationship –Research driven by local issues and niggles –Feedback loop to the service Doctoral research projects Teacher as researcher - single serviceTeacher as researcher - single service –Research generated at the local service level –Teacher is trained in action research –Teacher leads local research –Feedback loop to the service Communities of learners - network basedCommunities of learners - network based –Action learning or action research groups –Groups of inquiry-based learners linking services and linking researchers The Learning to Learn initiative in South Australia ( RESPECT project - Researchig Equitable Staff Parent Relationships in Early Childhood Teaching ( C/) Three targets for research and professional learning –Head - knowing intellectually thinking, research, theory –Heart - knowing emotionally why it matters, desire to change, desire for human rights –Hands - knowing practically strategies and techniques for change, for equity, diversity and inclusion All 3 matter!

inclusion Challenging discrimination Seeking equity Honoring children’s human rights equality Key challenges: –Adult resistance due to lack of knowledge and/or confidence Teachers say they struggle issues of diversity, equality and inclusion because they: –lack of appropriate knowledge and information about how to do this work –fear doing or saying the wrong thing on what is seen to be a sensitive issue in the Australian context –are uncertain about how to work in partnership with parents who have such a an influence in young children’s lives –overloaded by policy shifts and changes –too much fragmentation in training delivery and ideas they recieve. –Lack of support for adults who do initiate and attempt to sustain diversity, inclusion and equity programs How familiar are these to you?

inclusion Challenging discrimination Seeking equity Honoring children’s human rights equality Discrimination and its effects in young children’s lives is not inevitable, but it is likely if there is no effective, long- term intervention in the early years that support early childhood staff to own and want change. My family is Aboriginal. It makes me feel special. I feel special going to Grandma’s. Aboriginal is yuk… they come and kill you in the night with a knife.

inclusion Challenging discrimination Seeking equity Honoring children’s human rights equality Questions for reflection Technocratic VS TransformativeModels of professional learning and partnerships - Technocratic VS Transformative –What models of professional learning do you draw on in your context? Why? –What do you see as the pros and cons of each model? –What challenges do you see in developing more transformative models? Issues, challenges & ways forward –What are your current issues and challenges? –What could be done to move things forward? Australian issues and challenges –Adult resistance due to lack of knowledge and/or confidence Teachers say they struggle issues of diversity, equality and inclusion because they: –lack of appropriate knowledge and information about how to do this work –fear doing or saying the wrong thing on what is seen to be a sensitive issue in the Australian context –are uncertain about how to work in partnership with parents who have such a an influence in young children’s lives –overloaded by policy shifts and changes –too much fragmentation in training delivery and ideas they recieve. –Lack of support for adults who do initiate and attempt to sustain diversity, inclusion and equity programs