She said the conference was part of the process of demystifying research and making it accessible to everyone. ‘We need to draw new meaning from enquiry, to inform practice and bring about improvement,’ she said. ‘We hope that the dance-floor will be what takes place in our rooms during the conference, and in dancing we will be interacting and achieving interconnectivity.'
With a programme of 20 wide-ranging symposiums taking place over the two days, practitioners and academics had the opportunity to hear the latest research findings relating to evidence-based practice and to carry out some fruitful networking. The general feel of the event was informal and collaborative.
Leadership and mentoring were very much at the forefront of many presentations. Xiaohua Chen from the University of Hull unveiled the findings of her research project, ‘An investigation of Western perspectives of effective leadership in early childhood education in China’. Ms Chen mapped out the development of this fast-evolving market and defined a leadership style which was a mix of Western and traditional Chinese styles.
She said, ‘There is a lack of emphasis on vision and leadership is influenced by paternalistic leadership and the authoritarianism of Confucianism.’
Her findings suggested that the Chinese government should formulate relevant policy ‘to encourage projects that investigate concepts of leadership as well as clarify the characteristics of effective leadership’.
Mentoring was identified as a vital tool in the process of upskilling the sector in Southern Ireland, where accredited training has been steadily developing in the last ten years.
Marion Brennan, of Early Childhood Ireland, outlined how a recent survey outlined the extent to which practitioners benefit from close interactions with a mentor on-site and advocated that this should inform future policy.
Michael Gasper, of Starfish Enterprise, based in the East Midlands, reflected on the importance of mentoring on the NPQICL training programme for children’s centre heads. He said, ‘The research re-inforces the importance of trust and the value of active listening in deepening reflection,’ he said.
EYPS
Delegrates were brought also brought up to speed with a three year, ongoing, longitudinal study investigating the development of Early Years Professionals and their impact on practice.Professor Mark Hadfield of the University of Wolverhampton explained the methodology of the study which seeks to measure the extent to which practice is improving in line with research such as EPPE. The mixed-method evaluation includes qualitative in-depth studies of over 40 EYPs in 30 different settings, while impact is mapped to the ECERS and ITERS scales.
The latest phase of the research indentifies that one of the biggest barriers to positive change is the culture of a setting, where staff are not prepared to support changes. Other obstacles include lack of resources, lack of authority given to EYPs, and the contextual situation where practitioners may experience difficulties engaging parents.
The Centre for Developmental and Applied Research in Education expects the report of its second national survey of EYPS to be published in the spring.
- BECERA is an independent self-funding organisation run by the Centre for Research in Early Childhood (CREC) which has worked to improve services for young children and families in the UK for more than 25 years. CREC’s directors are Professor Tony Bertram and Professor Chris Pascal. The event was hosted by the Centre for Research in Early Childhood (www.crec.co.uk)
