How Relationships and Care as Curriculum can improve quality outcomes for children.
November 2024
Now more than ever, is the time to investigate what quality looks like for children, parents, whānau and communities in Aotearoa. This essay will explore professionalism and aspects of quality in relation to infants and toddlers through relationship pedagogy and care as curriculum. Striving to promote high quality education and care for infants and toddlers, is more than just providing a ‘water down’ version of an over two’s programme. It’s about ensuring Early Childhood Education (ECE) settings have leaders who are committed to implementing a curriculum, best suited to this age group. “Infancy and toddlerhood are critical periods for children’s learning and development. If supported well, children are more likely to experience success as lifelong learners” (Education Review Office, 2015, p. 3). Gailer (2010), highlights that infant and toddler enrolments have increased significantly, showing a shift within our communities.
History underpins quality and professionalism within our teaching sector. Regardless of what philosophy, values or pedagogical belief one has, acknowledging our history here in Aotearoa sets a strong foundation, emphasizing the importance of Te Tiriti o Waitangi and its place within ECE. Te Tiriti o Waitangi represents partnership, collaboration, commitment and inclusion. Quality can be enriched for Māori learners when kaiako have a sound understanding of Te Wheke, Te Whare Tapa Wha and theoretical principles of tikanga. Having this understanding allows our philosophies, policies and localised curriculum to reflect quality for Pakeha and Māori, “creating a positive future that honours Te Tiriti o Waitangi” (Education Council New Zealand-Matatū Aotearoa, 2017, p. 4).
Quality continues to weave its way through our early childhood communities with the implementation of Te Whāriki. Te Whāriki holds expectations for children to experience a curriculum that empowers them, with intent to enrich learning for future generations in Aotearoa (Ministry of Education, 2017). Kaiako have responsibilities to always act in a professional manner with colleagues, management, children, parents, whānau and the wider community. This is supported through Te Whāriki (Responsibilities of kaiakio) and through Our Code Our Standards. This holds kaiako accountable, by proving a framework to guide professional learning and development and to promote high quality teaching and leadership (Education Council New Zealand-Matatū Aotearoa, 2017). “Kaiako are the key resource in any ECE service. Their primary responsibility is to facilitate children’s learning and development through thoughtful and intentional pedagogy” (Ministry of Education, 2017, p. 59).
Quality for infants and toddlers can be measured through the relationships they build with people, places and things within their environment. This approach to learning and development is guided through relationship pedagogy. It is intentional and regarded to be highly effective for infants and toddlers. How it works within the ECE setting is through a primary teacher system “where teachers of infants and toddlers engage in intimate acts of intersubjectivity” (Dalli, et al., 2011, p. 67). Te Whāriki supports this notion of quality as it states, “a familiar and unhurried kaiako has primary responsibility for each infant so they can anticipate who will welcome and care for them” (Ministry of Education, 2017, p. 33).
For infants and toddlers to be able to confidently engage and explore their surroundings, first and for most they need to feel safe and secure. Dr Emmi Pikler “advocated for infants to be given our highest respect, focusing on the establishment of authentic trusting relationships between adult and infant” (Christie, 2011, p. 7). Degotardi and Pearson (2009) speak of high quality programmes being ones that facilitate opportunities for relationship building and that infants who form secure attachments tend to be confident explorers, thus promoting independence, empathy and healthy autonomy. Being intentional, sensitive, consistent, respectful and responsive to individual children’s needs (Barry, 2010) creates the formula for building secure attachments with infants, toddlers and their whānau. An attachment figure provides children with psychological wellbeing, by providing warmth and security (Degotardi & Peason, 2009), which also benefits parents and whānau as they too experience the high quality of care and attention that comes with relationship pedagogy.
It is imperative to highlight that “no one relationship functions in isolation of other relationships” (Degotardi & Pearson, 2009, p. 145), which can be a misconception within some ECE settings. When primary caregiving is done effectively, “over time children will create a network of relationships” (Degotardi & Pearson, 2009, p. 145), which becomes evident as they build relationships with other kaiako at their own pace. Relationship pedagogy will only work and be highly effective, when kaiako work in cohesion with parents and whānau. This type of unity requires trust, communication, commitment as “relationships developed between the teacher, child, and family are intentional, personal, and have an attention to detail” (Bary, 2010, p. 18).
Part of this attention to detail, requires professionalism, authenticity and kaiako having the knowledge that cultural diversity and inclusion is the essence for quality when working with children, parents and whānau. “Children’s learning and development is enhanced when culturally appropriate ways of communicating are used and when parents and whānau are encouraged to participate in and contribute to the curriculum” (Ministry of Education, 2017, p. 20). Professor Joe Tobin (Te Rito Maioha ECNZ, 2015), challenges us to be culturally responsive, even when this can be difficult at times. Relationship pedagogy provides kaiako, parents and whānau with the trust, respect and security needed to thrive and to navigate through any potential barriers that may occur.
Care as Curriculum can be explained through the routines and rituals children experience everyday. Whilst there are a few differences between the two (routines and rituals), they are both predictable and familiar and they provide infants and toddlers with a sense of belonging, trust and emotional stability (Loader & Christie, 2017). Bussey and Hill (2017) imply that everyday care routines can be turned into curriculum for infant and toddlers, as these moments experience with children provide valuable teaching and learning opportunities. This is also reflected within Te Whāriki as it states, “A curriculum for infants recognise the importance of individual care moments for learning” (Ministry of Education, 2017, p. 14).
As we take a deeper look into care as curriculum, a significant aspect of this is discussed as a ‘serve and return’ dynamic. This is a social interaction (imitation, shared attention, empathetic understanding) that occurs between an infant and adult (Dalli et al., 2011), which can be seen in action through our daily care moments. If kaiako honour the view that infants are competent right from birth (The Education Hun, n.d.), they would ensure their interactions during care moments are done in harmony and in consultation as “we demonstrate our respect every time we interact with infants” (Christie, 2011, p. 9). Magda Gerber inspires us to remember “Whenever you care, do it absolutely with full attention. If you pay half attention all the time, that’s never full attention. Babies are then always half hungry for attention. But if we pay full attention part of the time, then you go a long way” (Christie, 2011, p. 14).
Ensuring infants and toddlers experience high quality care, can be achieved through sensitive and responsive caregiving practices (Carroll-Lind & Angus, 2011), which supports and promotes wellbeing, emotional regulation and healthy brain development (Gonzalez-Mena & Eyer, 2018). For care as curriculum to be effective, it needs to be at the heart of the ECE setting, requiring commitment and teamwork, as this provides consistency of practice between all kaiako (Bussey & Hill, 2017). A barrier that kaiako can run into, is rushing these magic moments in order to get to the ‘real learning’, the ‘fun stuff’, missing the opportunity for complete and total engagement with a child. Children’s natural rhythms can guide the curriculum, offering an opening for joint attention, where kaiako can be attuned and fully present with an individual child and where communication (whether verbal or non-verbal) is reciprocal. “Rituals require our full attention, gentle care, and confidence that our intentions will bring a rich and rewarding experience for all involved” (Loader & Christie, 2017, p. 15).
From my own experience, I believe trusting relationships built upon honesty and respect forms a culture of quality within any domain. In relation to ECE, strong, reciprocal relationships help to set a solid foundation where everyone can engage in open dialogue implementing the “kaupapa of ako, by bringing shared knowledge together” (The Education Hub (n.d.). Everyone needs someone to be crazy about them. How much more does your heart shine when we have at least one person who validates, respects and showers us with unconditional aroha. This starts with infants and toddlers and the ripple effect quality practices such as, relationship pedagogy and care as curriculum has on a child’s holistic wellbeing and development.
“Providing for the care and education of infants requires specialised knowledge and practices” (Ministry of Education, 2017, p. 14). Being able to articulate the specialised nature of infant and toddler pedagogy (Dalli et al., 2011), relies heavily on leadership and kaiako within Aotearoa who are passionate, intrinsically motivated and who have sound understanding of what quality looks and feels like for infants and toddlers. The work done by Margaret Carr and Val Podmore (Core Education, 2015), do you know me, can I trust you, do you hear me, will you let me fly, is this a safe place for me? Was developed as a framework for assessing children’s learning and development in Aotearoa. We can use these questions, from an infant and toddler perspective to ensure that they feel safe, secure, important, seen and heard within their ECE setting.
“Educational outcomes have become the focus, rather than the wholesome richness of an experience” (Loader & Christie, 2017, p. 12). I finish with a ‘call to action’. Knowing what is regarded as high quality for infants and toddlers, I would suggest more specialised professional development for kaiako working with this age group. And as the voice for our smallest but most important human beings, I prompt ECE settings, MOE and ERO to act now, to ensure practices and curriculum are consistent, intentional, specialised and committed to promoting the best possible outcomes for infants and toddlers in Aotearoa.
