Developing identities in the workplace: Students' experiences of distance early childhood teacher education.

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Authors
Tate, A.
Keywords
Distance learning
Teacher education
Early childhood education
Situated learning
Description of form
Publisher
Rights
Rights holder
Issue Date
2015
Peer-reviewed status
Type
Article
Language
en
Abstract
In Aotearoa New Zealand, many early childhood teachers gain their teaching qualification via distance study while working in an early childhood centre. Early childhood teachers work in a team environment, and it is important to understand more about how distance students negotiate changes in their workplace practice as their professional knowledge develops. This article draws on a study that explores students’ experiences of distance teacher education as a process of changing participation in the workplace. Distance study supported increasingly confident participation as students saw more meaning in their daily work. The students’ identities and their workplace cultures and practices influenced what students paid attention to and the decisions they made when negotiating changes within their teams. Their experiences suggest that strengthening students’ relational agency at work is a useful focus for distance early childhood teacher education programmes.
Citation
Tate, A. (2015). Developing identities in the workplace: Students' experiences of distance early childhood teacher education. Asia-Pacific Journal of Teacher Education. Retrieved from http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/1359866X.2015.1084995.
DOI