Building Professional Relationships and Student Confidence through Early Childhood Graduate Practitioner Competencies

This paper reports on how Early Childhood Graduate Practitioner Competencies (ECGPCs) impact on professional relationships and develop bidirectional confidence in the practical abilities of Early Childhood Studies (ECS) students in England. The study adopted an interpretive approach, seeking views t...

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Main Authors: Tanya Richardson, Su Lavercombe, Sigrid Brogaard-Clausen
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Deakin University 2024-12-01
Series:Journal of Teaching and Learning for Graduate Employability
Online Access:https://ojs.deakin.edu.au/index.php/jtlge/article/view/1905
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author Tanya Richardson
Su Lavercombe
Sigrid Brogaard-Clausen
author_facet Tanya Richardson
Su Lavercombe
Sigrid Brogaard-Clausen
author_sort Tanya Richardson
collection DOAJ
description This paper reports on how Early Childhood Graduate Practitioner Competencies (ECGPCs) impact on professional relationships and develop bidirectional confidence in the practical abilities of Early Childhood Studies (ECS) students in England. The study adopted an interpretive approach, seeking views through questionnaires (n=38) which were administered, through purposeful sampling, to students, mentors and academics from three universities in England offering Early Childhood Studies (ECS) degrees with ECGPCs. Findings suggest that the ECGPCs enabled focused placement students, with stakeholders recognising the potential for confidence and increased professionalism through the direction that the ECGPCs provide. In contexts of rapid change in Early Childhood policy this article argues the importance of the ECGPCs and of placement to support the graduate professional identity of the early childhood workforce. Interlinking and evidencing knowledge from research and practice enable graduates to articulate and have competencies in; ‘what they do’, ‘how they do ‘it’’ and essentially ‘why they do ‘it’’’. This is essential in promoting graduate relational/collegial professionals and advocating for stronger societal recognition and valuing of young children and the professionals working with them. With the ECGPCs being a new initiative within the United Kingdom, this study is unique in that it begins the research conversation around the success and challenges that this new initiative brings to the suite of Early Childhood (EC) qualifications.
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spelling doaj-art-4c2aad9e6b5940c6a0b86f1c531478c32024-12-18T05:47:40ZengDeakin UniversityJournal of Teaching and Learning for Graduate Employability1838-38152024-12-0115110.21153/jtlge2024vol15no1art1905Building Professional Relationships and Student Confidence through Early Childhood Graduate Practitioner CompetenciesTanya Richardson0https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3050-3720Su Lavercombe1https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5722-0317Sigrid Brogaard-Clausen2https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9721-3915University of NorthamptonUniversity of Derby, UKUniversity of Roehampton, UKThis paper reports on how Early Childhood Graduate Practitioner Competencies (ECGPCs) impact on professional relationships and develop bidirectional confidence in the practical abilities of Early Childhood Studies (ECS) students in England. The study adopted an interpretive approach, seeking views through questionnaires (n=38) which were administered, through purposeful sampling, to students, mentors and academics from three universities in England offering Early Childhood Studies (ECS) degrees with ECGPCs. Findings suggest that the ECGPCs enabled focused placement students, with stakeholders recognising the potential for confidence and increased professionalism through the direction that the ECGPCs provide. In contexts of rapid change in Early Childhood policy this article argues the importance of the ECGPCs and of placement to support the graduate professional identity of the early childhood workforce. Interlinking and evidencing knowledge from research and practice enable graduates to articulate and have competencies in; ‘what they do’, ‘how they do ‘it’’ and essentially ‘why they do ‘it’’’. This is essential in promoting graduate relational/collegial professionals and advocating for stronger societal recognition and valuing of young children and the professionals working with them. With the ECGPCs being a new initiative within the United Kingdom, this study is unique in that it begins the research conversation around the success and challenges that this new initiative brings to the suite of Early Childhood (EC) qualifications.https://ojs.deakin.edu.au/index.php/jtlge/article/view/1905
spellingShingle Tanya Richardson
Su Lavercombe
Sigrid Brogaard-Clausen
Building Professional Relationships and Student Confidence through Early Childhood Graduate Practitioner Competencies
Journal of Teaching and Learning for Graduate Employability
title Building Professional Relationships and Student Confidence through Early Childhood Graduate Practitioner Competencies
title_full Building Professional Relationships and Student Confidence through Early Childhood Graduate Practitioner Competencies
title_fullStr Building Professional Relationships and Student Confidence through Early Childhood Graduate Practitioner Competencies
title_full_unstemmed Building Professional Relationships and Student Confidence through Early Childhood Graduate Practitioner Competencies
title_short Building Professional Relationships and Student Confidence through Early Childhood Graduate Practitioner Competencies
title_sort building professional relationships and student confidence through early childhood graduate practitioner competencies
url https://ojs.deakin.edu.au/index.php/jtlge/article/view/1905
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