Abstract:
The significant role of immigrant educators in contributing cultural knowledge and skills to the Australian educational landscape is well-documented. Despite this, the experiences of immigrant early childhood (EC) educators remain largely unexplored in research. This presentation seeks to bridge this gap by exploring how immigrant EC educators navigate their diverse cultural knowledge and pedagogical skills in their professional roles in Victorian EC settings. The aim is to understand how these immigrant EC educators reconcile their cultural experiences with the pedagogical practices in Victoria’s EC context.
This presentation explores the experiences of twelve immigrant EC educators in Victoria. Using a qualitative narrative methodology, the study explored how twelve immigrant EC educators experienced cultural and pedagogical diversity as they transitioned from working in their home countries into Victorian EC settings. Underpinned by Appadurai’s (1996) theory of global cultural flows and practices helped understand how culture, aspiration, and imagination of the participant’s future lives influence decisions. Data was gathered through semi-structured interviews, each lasting about 60 minutes, where participants were asked to bring three images that depicted their past and present cultural and pedagogical experiences, as well as their envisioned future roles as EC educators. Employing this technique of photo-elicitation enabled using images as stimuli to generate rich and detailed narratives.
A three-stage iterative process was used to analyse data using Riessman’s (1993) narrative analysis framework and Appadurai’s (1996) theoretical concepts. This process involved systematically examining data to identify key ideas and construct each participant’s narrative. The data analysis process helped make links and find connections between immigrant EC educators’ experiences in relation to their cultural and pedagogical experiences. The findings indicate that engaging with Victoria’s play-based pedagogies empowered these educators to critically reflect on and reshape their understanding of education, culturally influenced practices, and their roles in children’s development. Participants reported that they experienced cultural tensions and highlighted complexities involved in designing and implementing a play-based learning environment due to the significant disparities in pedagogical resources and tools between their home countries and Victorian EC contexts. However, despite these challenges, exposure to alternative cultural and pedagogical practices fostered a transformative learning process for some immigrant EC educators. This presentation advocates for embracing and supporting immigrant EC educators’ contributions in fostering culturally responsive pedagogy.
References
Appadurai, A. (1996). Modernity at large: Cultural dimensions of globalization. University of Minnesota Press.
Riessman, C. K. (1993). Narrative analysis. SAGE Publications.
This presentation explores the experiences of twelve immigrant EC educators in Victoria. Using a qualitative narrative methodology, the study explored how twelve immigrant EC educators experienced cultural and pedagogical diversity as they transitioned from working in their home countries into Victorian EC settings. Underpinned by Appadurai’s (1996) theory of global cultural flows and practices helped understand how culture, aspiration, and imagination of the participant’s future lives influence decisions. Data was gathered through semi-structured interviews, each lasting about 60 minutes, where participants were asked to bring three images that depicted their past and present cultural and pedagogical experiences, as well as their envisioned future roles as EC educators. Employing this technique of photo-elicitation enabled using images as stimuli to generate rich and detailed narratives.
A three-stage iterative process was used to analyse data using Riessman’s (1993) narrative analysis framework and Appadurai’s (1996) theoretical concepts. This process involved systematically examining data to identify key ideas and construct each participant’s narrative. The data analysis process helped make links and find connections between immigrant EC educators’ experiences in relation to their cultural and pedagogical experiences. The findings indicate that engaging with Victoria’s play-based pedagogies empowered these educators to critically reflect on and reshape their understanding of education, culturally influenced practices, and their roles in children’s development. Participants reported that they experienced cultural tensions and highlighted complexities involved in designing and implementing a play-based learning environment due to the significant disparities in pedagogical resources and tools between their home countries and Victorian EC contexts. However, despite these challenges, exposure to alternative cultural and pedagogical practices fostered a transformative learning process for some immigrant EC educators. This presentation advocates for embracing and supporting immigrant EC educators’ contributions in fostering culturally responsive pedagogy.
References
Appadurai, A. (1996). Modernity at large: Cultural dimensions of globalization. University of Minnesota Press.
Riessman, C. K. (1993). Narrative analysis. SAGE Publications.