A day in the life of a newly qualified infant/toddler teacher

A day in the life of a newly qualified infant/toddler teacher by Marek Tesar & Sandy Farquhar (peer reviewed) “Because as a new graduate you are full of dreams, you want to run the world in a diferent way and yeah, you just go for it. And then you realise that there are things that actually really matter to you”. There are not many published narratives of infant/toddler early career teachers1, and so their stories often remain hidden and only whispered in the staff rooms of early childhood centres. This article presents a raw ‘day-in-the-life” narrative of experiences of a newly qualified infant/ toddler teacher. Rose2, an early childhood teacher with infants and toddlers, has finished work for the day and has arrived to meet us to be part of a study about newly qualified teachers in their first year of teaching. Her day has been very busy and she comments “there were a lot of children”. It has not always been like that in her centre, but this has “became a typical day” which Rose has come to accept: “it’s okay to be busy now, that’s how it is” and “I think I’m used to it”. This article paints a particularly complex and often difficult picture of Rose’s experiences, and of what it means to be a teacher. Her experiences are sometimes rewarding and sometimes difficult to accept. These experiences may not be shared by all teachers, and not all of Rose’s trials and tribulations are concerns associated with being a newly qualified teacher. However, the story of Rose is indicative of a number of concerns that were raised by other participants throughout the study. It is important to note that while Rose’s narrative may sound critical of current infant/toddler teachers’ working conditions, in her conversation Rose emphasised and displayed a love and care for her job, for children, families, colleagues and the community of her early years’ centre. Since graduating with her ECE teaching qualification, Rose spends most of her time working with children, which is a very fulfilling realisation of something she has studied so long for. However, the work also brings particular tensions. Rose 1 See for instance Elliot (2007) and Goouch & Powell (2013). 2 A pseudonym has been used. Other identifying details have been carefully removed and “storied” to assure confidentiality while ensuring that Rose’s story retains its integrity and directness. The First Years: Nga- Tau Tuatahi. New Zealand Journal of Infant and Toddler Education. Volume 17, Issue 1, 2015 17 "For Rose, being a newly qualiied teacher means that there "Rose thinks that “the value of a newly qualiied teacher is “something you have to prove”. She feels that she lacks is beginning to decline because of demand”, and also guidance towards ensuring that she has appropriate professional because of the current funding regulations. Rose argues development. While there is funding available for her, she that all students whose only practical experience has identiies the problem as a lack of leadership and mentoring been in their practicums will struggle at irst in their structures to support and guide teachers to use it." irst “real job” in an early years setting." has concerns about the teachers’ working conditions and children’s “food, [and] ratios, too many children in too small a room”. In particular, she identifies tensions between teachers and management. While these weigh heavily on her she also talks about the more positive elements of her teaching including how well the teachers get along, and support each other. She also talks positively about how the community around the centre make her job worthwhile, as "many parents know each other, they talk together and create a great support network". The relationships within and outside the centre are the most positive aspect for Rose. The teachers work well together, and “the centre does not compromise on anything that does not involve resources or money … as the care comes straight from the heart”, and that comes down to connectedness, care, professionalism and relationships. Rose feels the quality of her work is often compromised by her working conditions and sees her tertiary education as “idyllic” as it promoted a sense of advocacy that while clearly important to her, is increasingly difficult to uphold. She says the education she received provided a positive ideal to “ensure that teachers are great and that we can change how centres run … and I think to a great extent a qualified teacher is able to do that”. At the same time her most significant struggle is one of quality versus quantity, something that she refers to as “a battle”. Her story highlights how sometimes what is taught in tertiary education about teaching and learning in early childhood centres, may not align with practices in the field: “there is theory and studies and research [that] is saying that we actually are able to implement that. But then we are faced with the realities of life and business”. From student to teacher Rose argues that all students whose only practical experience of ECE has been in their practicums will struggle at first, in their first “real job” in an early years setting: Rose works in a newly established centre where a lot of changes are happening. It is situated in a lively urban area, has recently changed ownership, and has also recently employed a number of new teachers. In this environment, she has experienced things that, as a newly qualified teacher, she was not necessarily prepared for, like a significant rise of enrolments. She reports that her job is not easy, “Sometimes it takes a toll on you, especially on Thursdays, cause a lot of the week has gone by and now you are tired, I suppose”. However, Rose is able to leave the problems of the centre behind, once she is ‘off the floor’. When she steps out of the centre, she is ‘out’, ‘in real life’, unlike many of her teacher colleagues, who seem to ‘take their problems home’. 18 … because as a student teacher you are doing something completely different, you are more focussed in showing your folder to your AT and your university supervisor ... of course you observed everything but once you [are employed] that pressure is different. For Rose, being a newly qualified teacher means that there is “something you have to prove”. She feels that she lacks guidance towards ensuring that she has appropriate professional development. While there is funding available for her, she identifies the problem as a lack of leadership and mentoring structures to support and guide teachers to use it. She is left to her own devices to find out about what is available and she feels that her workplace “is not focussed on professional development”. Dreams and relics of student teacher days Rose had a lot of dreams when she studied to become an early childhood teacher. She reckons that her practicums have not prepared her for the reality of teaching in a private centre. She has learnt a lot of theory, and she was very keen to see it in practice but she found the initial month in the centre very hard “because you are different [in your teaching job] to how you are on practicum ... I was lost for the first 20-30 days for sure”. It was not easy, and she felt she had to prove herself in front of the other teachers. Her understanding of mentoring and induction is interesting: “In an office job you can be trained by someone, but on the floor where you are counted as part of the ratio, you pretty much have to do whatever you have to do without making any mistakes because you are working with children”. Rose became involved with increased responsibilities within her team because of the circumstances and dynamics in the centre, rather than as a result of any purposeful mentoring or induction. Compounding this experience was the way in which she was thrown into a position of responsibility when a lot of teaching staff left the centre and suddenly Rose, only a couple of months into the job, was left as the person with the most experience with infants and toddlers. She feels that she needed more time to ease into her role, rather than being thrown The First Years: Nga- Tau Tuatahi. New Zealand Journal of Infant and Toddler Education. Volume 17, Issue 1, 2015 in at the deep end. She does not mind pressure, she says, but she feels that she didn’t have enough time to “learn from other teachers”. Rose strongly feels that in the sector there is an assumption that Graduate Diploma ECE students are “not ever going to be good enough versus someone who has done a Bachelor of Education ECE”. Rose disagrees with this: she does think that after three years of study you might have a longer time to absorb the reality of theory and teaching, but that that does not change the idea that you are a “newly qualified teacher”. She believes that the market is getting saturated, that “things have changed over time with respect to being newly qualified. There are just too many of us out there”, and she says that gone are the times when ECE jobs are on the Immigration New Zealand long-term shortage list. Rose thinks that “the value of a newly qualified teacher is beginning to decline because of demand”, and also because of the current funding regulations. Rose argues that all students whose only practical experience has been in their practicums will struggle at first in their first “real job” in an early years setting. Every picture tells a story Rose is sometimes disheartened by the lack of pedagogical focus in her centre. For instance, during her studies, Rose learnt that learning stories should be detailed and meaningful, but she suggests this does not match up with reality and the busyness in the centre, where there never seems to be time for the level of detail and meaning she would like to add. She reflects fondly on those times of learning at the university and she still carries with her the strong ideals about learning stories from that time. But nowadays, in her daily practice, learning stories are expected to be just a few lines because, according to her centre manager, parents do not have much time to read. There is an overall reliance and emphasis on the use of visual images and children’s artwork. For Rose, this means compromising the quality of the learning story and she contemplates the tension between “if I had the time” versus the instruction from her centre manager of “writing four sentences”. The teachers in her centre receive a little over one hour of non-contact time each week so a lot of documentation is done at home in their own time – this she suggests is willingly completed by the teachers because they are “professionals”. Rose tells us that teachers are scared to speak up about the time spent on learning stories and their lack of depth because they are worried that they may lose their job. Food Inc. Another quality concern for Rose is around the food that the centre serves to the children and she questions the idea of a curriculum that argues for children to become ‘healthy’ (Ministry of Education, 1996): “for instance they were serving instant noodles the other day and again that’s not healthy for babies for sure.” Although she admits that the food is not sub-standard, she feels that its quality is compromised and that tinned, packet or frozen food and custard is not an optimal diet. Her concerns come from a deep commitment and care for infants and toddlers – and a very strong sense of responsibility for children and the food they eat. She sees that there is a lot of sugar in the children’s diet and this is a source of concern. She does not think that all food that the centre serves is bad, but that some days the quality is compromised and this upsets her as a caring and professional teacher. She is convinced that management is more concerned with convenience and watching the budget, than the quality of learning and children’s wellbeing. A further complicating factor is the high turn-over of kitchen staff. For Rose, this makes the centre problematic, as “based on what parents pay as fees, I think they should be getting better food”. She further reports: cooks have left in the past because they are on a minimum wage … so if you are not respecting the job and you are not giving them the kind of money that they need, you obviously are not emphasising … how important something like food is. A further concern is the way in which the menu is promoted, as it is not always an adequate reflection of reality. Rose recalls a conversation with a temporary cook during her non-contact time: the menu says fish filet, and she says that’s not fish filet, it’s fish fingers. I said yeah, I think so, I’m pretty sure it’s fish fingers, it can’t be fish filet. Do you get it? So if you euphemistically write something as something nicer I don’t think there is any way the parents can actually find out. They can be concerned but they can’t really see it. When Rose raised her concerns within the centre, she was not ignored outright, but nothing has been done since to address the problem she deeply cared about. She suggests that this shows a lack of communication, respect and continuity between The First Years: Nga- Tau Tuatahi. New Zealand Journal of Infant and Toddler Education. Volume 17, Issue 1, 2015 19 "Rose irst worked with infants, however, she was "Like Rose, all of the teachers who participated in the study then told to join the toddlers’ room. She recalls the were committed to their teaching and to making a diference incident, including how another teacher who was on in children’s lives and they eagerly recounted stories of very annual leave overseas at the time, received an email positive practices also. As Rose herself does, it is important from management to let her know that she was now to contextualise the more negative aspects within such great expected to move and work in the infant room." practice as sometimes it feels like they dominate." teachers, management and kitchen staff. For Rose this is a tremendous concern, which she positions within a discourse of a for-profit centre, that she feels compromises the quality of care and the wellbeing of the child. At the same time, Rose says that she is not against for-profit centres, however, she emphasises that there is a need for greater respect and care for children: “I know if it is a private centre, I know your ultimate goal is profit, but at what cost?” From infants to toddlers There is a lot of movement within the teaching staff in Rose’s centre, from one room to another, and often it is not initiated or agreed to by the teacher concerned. Rose first worked with infants, however, she was then told to join the toddlers’ room. She recalls the incident, including how another teacher who was on annual leave overseas at the time, received an email from management to let her know that she was now expected to move and work in the infant room. These decisions, she suggests, were made on the basis of a personality struggle, not because of the expertise of the teacher or for the benefit of the teacher, or for the children. Rose considers this to be unprofessional: “When you swap, you swap for a valid reason. Because of this incident every teacher had to move, including Rose, “some willingly, some not so willingly”. Rose however suggests that another factor was at play, that “…there were too many qualified teachers … and there was one teacher who had left from the pre-school and so they wanted to move one of the qualified to pre-school and instead hire a teacher aide in the nursery”. 20 When later Rose was asked to go to the pre-school, she refused because she saw that her expertise is with infants. However, she was moved to the toddler area, despite her preference of working with infants. it’s a bit scary in the sense that it’s actually a pain to be a qualified teacher if you look at it, because I’m qualified I have to move. That because of the way the market is right now, unqualified is equally good in the sense that you are able to get a job as long as you are willing to take that particular salary. Rose also acknowledges other differences for qualified and non-qualified teachers. She narrates the story of an unqualified teacher, for example, who has been in the centre for the last 15 years, and has experienced three ownership changes. Rose thinks that “she is as good as a qualified [teacher] … [but] your learning stories will be affected by it [qualification] because you wouldn’t necessarily be looking at what you should be looking at [if you weren’t qualified]”. There is an economic notion at play as well: according to Rose, there is a discourse amongst teaching staff, that an unqualified teacher is pretty much as good as qualified staff, or as somebody who is a teacher in training, and yet there is a vast difference in their salaries and earning. But Rose also further contemplates, that “what you say to the children is affected by your qualifications“. Because of the change of the government target to have 100% of qualified teachers, there is no funding available for 100% of qualified teachers, and some centres, like Rose’s, keep to the minimum of 80% of qualified teachers (Farquhar & Gibbons, 2010; Tesar, 2015). Rose continues, fairly outraged, as now: “you don’t need to have a qualified [teacher], who you have to pay seven dollars higher an hour”. This concern is reflected in the advertisements: ever since the change of this policy various job advertisements target ‘experienced unqualified teachers’. Teachers’ working conditions Rose has a clear idea of her work in early childhood centre. Deep down, she loves her job and work, but she realises that she may not be able to work in early childhood education for the rest of her career: I want to be in the ECE sector at least for a bit. I don’t know for how long. I think in the long run working in the nursery is not good for you, for your back, cause you’ve got to carry children quite a bit. I think physical health is very important, cause I’ve seen cases where the back collapsed literally. It’s a lot of thought that goes into how you lift a child every day. With the toddlers it’s not like that, you don’t have to carry them. Rose’s narrative of a short career span is consistent with speculation around high attrition and turnover rates in centres (Aitken & Kennedy, 2007). But Rose’s narrative also suggests she would like a longer career in early childhood. While she does not imagine herself as a future business owner, and despite being “forced” to change from infants to toddlers, and then being prematurely promoted into a leadership position because of staff change in her centre, she does not see herself as a leader. As she says, not “in the next few years … not yet, I am not there yet”. For Rose, “leadership is quite tricky The First Years: Nga- Tau Tuatahi. New Zealand Journal of Infant and Toddler Education. Volume 17, Issue 1, 2015 in ECE. It’s not simple”, when she refers to the complexity of managing paperwork and being on the floor, as compared for example to leadership in an office job. Instead, Rose’s “dreams” are for better understanding, cooperation and balance “between management and the teachers”. For instance, teachers are not allowed unpaid leave, so “if you don’t have any paid leave you can’t take leave … so if you have two weeks of leave and you have to go to England to see your family, where I come from, you can only take two weeks”. For Rose, these are the things that boost staff morale. The “staff morale goes a long way in how teachers teach”, and for her it is clearly linked with working conditions. There are also other professional and ethical concerns for Rose, such as the times teachers are asked to backdate some documentation, or the ratios are not followed. Rose says that she herself, and other teachers, are scared to speak up, because they are worried that they may lose their job. Rose’s dreams are for these tensions to be sorted and to shift the lens and focus from the management of the centre, to children’s and teachers’ learning and wellbeing. She talks about this in terms of walking on “a tight-rope”. Rose calls for more respect, and a greater understanding of “teachers as teachers”. Rose’s future in ECE As Rose’s narrative seems to suggest, a managerial focus on profit and instrumental organisation of centre affairs does not always work in the best interests of children and teachers, as amply discussed by Duhn (2010). Rose’s discourse indicates the persistent and ongoing issue with the lack of all teachers’ voice in not only their daily work but also in children’s learning. Stronger teacher input and pedagogical leadership has been called for over a number of years, but still remains an issue for some teachers (see for example Duncan, 2004; Farquhar & Gibbons, 2010). A day in the life of Rose, an infant/toddler teacher, speaks to a number of ideas that arose in our study of newly qualified teachers. While Rose’s story paints a problematic picture, her portrayal of centre life is indicative of the issues we heard about in the study. Some of the teachers had more positive experiences but most of them recounted concerns that Rose’s story illustrates. Like Rose, all of the teachers who participated in the study were committed to their teaching and to making a difference in children’s lives and they eagerly recounted stories of very positive practices also. As Rose herself does, it is important to contextualise the more negative aspects within such great practice as sometimes it feels like they dominate. However, we also suggest that these more critical aspects that Rose’s story portrays could be a catalyst for reflection and change to be used as a discussion point for others, to examine their own practices and to further discussion about improving pedagogical practices and working conditions for children and teachers. What does the future hold for Rose? She suggests that she may choose to move to a community-based centre, which, as she sees it, is more focussed on children’s outcomes. Her narrative suggests that she would like to continue her early childhood education career for a long time – and although she has doubts about this, these doubts are not linked to her desire to work with infants. As centre owners, lead teachers, policy- makers and teacher educators we need to ensure the continued development of strong, committed teachers, by focussing on the wellbeing, care and education of children, and by offering more security and better working conditions for our early childhood teachers. References Aitken, H., & Kennedy, A. (2007). Critical issues for the early childhood profession. In L. KeesingStyles & H. Hedges (Eds.), Theorising early childhood practice. Emerging dialogues (pp. 165-185). Baulkham Hills, NSW: Pademelon Press. Duhn, I. (2010). ‘The centre is my business’: Neoliberal politics, privatisation and discourses of professionalism in New Zealand. Contemporary Issues in Early Childhood, 11(1), 49-60. http:// dx.doi.org/10.2304/ciec.2010.11.1. 49 Duncan, J. (2004). Misplacing the teacher? New Zealand early childhood teachers and early childhood policy reforms, 1984-96. Contemporary Issues in Early Childhood, 5 (2), 160-177. http://dx.doi.org/10.2304/ ciec.2004.5.2.4 Elliot, E. (2007). We’re not robots. The voices of daycare providers. Albany, NY: State University of New York. Farquhar, S. L., & Gibbons, A. (2010). Early childhood education. In M. Thrupp, R. Irwin (Eds.) Another decade of New Zealand education policy. Where to now? (pp. 83-98). Waikato University: Wilf Malcolm Institute of Educational Research. Goouch, K., & Powell, S. (2013). The Baby room: Principles, policy and practice. New York, NY: McGraw Hill. Ministry of Education. (1996). Te wha-riki: He wha-riki matauranga mo- nga- mokopuna o aotearoa, early childhood curriculum. Wellington, New Zealand: Learning Media. Tesar, M. (2015). Te Wha-riki in Aotearoa New Zealand: Witnessing and resisting neoliberal and neo-colonial discourses in early childhood education. In V. Pacini-Ketchabaw, A. Taylor (Eds.) Unsettling the colonial places and spaces of early childhood education (pp. 145-170). London, UK: Routledge. The First Years: Nga- Tau Tuatahi. New Zealand Journal of Infant and Toddler Education. Volume 17, Issue 1, 2015 21