Past event Part of series: Research Commission: Competing Discourses of Early Childhood Education and Care
This Seminar is the 4th in the Research Commission, Competing Discourses of Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC): Tensions, Impacts and Democratic Alternatives across the UK’s four jurisdictions.
In many countries, strategies to further develop services and institutions for the education and care of young children are linked to a discourse on professionalism (Urban, 2013). In Northern Ireland and Ireland, professionalism is set within ECEC reforms such as Learning to Learn and First 5: A Whole-of-Government Strategy for Babies, Young Children and their Families. However within both contexts the persistent ‘split system’ of statutory and voluntary/private sectors within the field of early childhood provision plays a key role in the creation of a fully professionalised early years workforce.
This seminar will explore the extent to which ECEC colleagues are being de/re/professionalised in various ways. In particular we aim to hear Northern Irish and Irish responses to the following questions:
The research questions for the seminar include:
The seminar will also include Keynote presentations from Dr. Siobhan Fitzpatrick, former CEO of Early Years: the organisation for young children, Belfast, Northern Ireland and Professor Mathias Urban, Dublin City University, Ireland.
| 10.00 | Registration, tea and coffee |
| 10.10 | Welcome Introductions Dr Glenda Walsh, Stranmillis University College and Dr Jacqueline Fallon, National Council for Curriculum and Assessment in the Republic of Ireland |
| 10.15 | Setting the Context of the ECEC Research Commission Dr Guy Roberts-Holmes, Dr Jan Georgeson and Dr Verity Campbell-Barr |
| 10.30 | Structural Focus Group Discussions (Using Nominal Group Technique) answering questions: The 3 main research questions:
|
| 11.30 | Coffee Break |
| 12.00 | A professional early childhood workforce for a peaceful, shared and sustainable Northern Ireland Dr Siobhan Fitzpatrick, Queens University, Belfast, Northern Ireland |
| 12.45 | Discussion Q&A |
| 13.00 | Lunch |
| 13.30 | What’s in a name, Rumpelstiltskin? Collective professional identities and the urgent task of reinventing early childhood education and care Professor Mathias Urban, Dublin University, Ireland |
| 14.15 | Discussion Q&A |
| 14.30 | Feedback on Nominal Group Technique scores and group discussion |
| 14.55 | Completion of Evaluation Forms |
| 15.00 | Close of event |
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