Connecting for learning : four preschool teachers engage in sustained, structured conversation about genuine practice

This inquiry is about genuine practice in Early Childhood Education and the value of trusting relationships among child care practitioners as they converse about their practice. This participatory research project outlines the processes and describes the meaning that sustained, stmctured conversation about genuine practice had on four Vancouver area child care practitioners over a six month period. Conversation was used as both a method of collecting data and a process to undertake to improve practice. Conversation provided us with a way to reconstruct and reinterpret our experiences, improve our understanding of ourselves as teachers and our understanding of children, and restructure our personal knowledge of teaching and children. The participants understood being genuine as "being me" and "being connected" to children and themselves. They also spoke of it as acts of resistance against ways of being that can oppress children. I explain why genuine practice is an important concept for educators to discuss and should be used to supplement the current focus on curriculum planning in child care training. Feniinist epistemology, curriculum theory and autobiography have influenced this work. It is also informed by my 20 years of child care practice. This research stems from my desire to know my role as teacher better and to add to the growing knowledge about the value of conversation and genuine practice. Sustained, structured conversation can be a valuable tool for professional development. It can help practitioners become more reflective by providing contexts where they are able to achieve a sense of trust, and listen well to one another. Sustained, structured conversation can also support the improvement of practice when participants refrain from giving advice but ask genuine questions and share stories of their practice. The participants reported that they became more reflective in their work with children as they became reacquainted with their beliefs and values. They showed a greater propensity toward self-questioning as the conversations advanced. The participants also reported that the conversations provided emotional support needed during times of work-related stress and that building relationships outside of the work place was an important feature of the research.Education, Faculty ofEducational Studies (EDST), Department ofGraduat