Early childhood professionals’ pedagogical decision making

Abstract

The present study sought to determine how and where pedagogical decisions are made, as well as how such pedagogical decisions construct pedagogy, in the early childhood education context. The data was collected through interviews conducted with 46 early childhood education professionals, both teachers and practical nurses. The questions focused on the participants’ perceptions of the children’s learning and their own role in the process. Both data-based and theory-driven analyses were employed. The theory-driven analysis was based on the ecological dimensions introduced by Bronfenbrenner [Bronfenbrenner, Urie. 1976. “The Experimental Ecology of Education.” Educational Researcher 5 (9): 5–15. https://doi.org/10.3102/0013189X005009005] and Sheridan (Sheridan, Sonja. 2007. “Dimensions of Pedagogical Quality in Preschool.” International Journal of Early Years Education 15 (2): 197–217. https://doi.org/10.1080/09669760701289151, 2009. “Discerning Pedagogical Quality in Preschool.” Scandinavian Journal of Educational Research 53 (3): 245–261. https://doi.org/10.1080/00313830902917295). We found that teachers and practical nurses generally make pedagogical decisions based on their knowledge of child development. Moreover, they use their knowledge of pedagogy and learning theories when making decisions as they make plans for the child or a group of children in advance.