Pedagogical Professionalism as Situated Practice

Working with children's participation in Early Childhood Institutions

Abstract

In this article, we examine how pedagogues support children's participation in children’s communities in early childhood institutions, contributing to a nuanced understanding of pedagogical professionalism as a situated phenomenon. This means professionalism is identified through pedagogues' daily and often contradictory work in early childhood institutions, thereby constituting more than just individual professional competencies. The article is based on analyses of empirical material from a research project that followed pedagogical work with children’s participation in smaller groups of children in four Danish early childhood institutions over a period of four years. The article concludes that pedagogical professionalism cannot be separated from pedagogical practice and its conditions. When working with children’s participation in children’s communities, this practice is informed by specific conditions such as staff turnover, collaboration, and political agendas, including early intervention initiatives.

Keywords:
Pedagogical professionalism, Working conditions in early childhood institutions, Children's opportunities for participation, Communities of practice