We love because he first loved us: Catholic, pre-service, early childhood teachers' perspectives on the relationship between their faith and their positionality within the contemporary international debate on pedagogical love in early childhood education.
Abstract
A) Motivation and Interest (Background to the research) This research project is now in its second phase. As a project, it initially grew out of conversations with pre-service teachers. As educators of educators, we observed that there was a frequency of conversations arising within tutorial sessions intersecting with a growing international debate on the role of love in education and in particular, in early childhood education, where children's brains are shaped by their experiences of love. These tutorial conversations were generally punctuated by expressions of concern by students that children’s right to be loved and to feel loved was an important and integral part of early childhood education. This was upheld by the existing body of literature on pedagogical love which holds that children’s need and right to be surrounded by love poses a challenge for many early childhood teachers as they strive to meet the emotional needs of children within a professional care-based relationship (Goldstein, 1999; Walsh & Brandon, 2012). As the educators of these future educators, we decided that some action research was required in order to ascertain more comprehensively, the perspectives of our students on children’s right to be loved and how students envisaged this right would be actualised within their future practice. in 2018, we undertook phase one of this project by carrying out empirical research with undergraduate students which showed that they hold a very strong commitment and deep understanding of the role of love within their emerging pedagogy. This research was published in 2019 and is available at the following link: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/03004430.2019.1574778 We were very impressed by the depth of our student's perspectives on pedagogical love. As Catholic researchers in a Catholic University, it was perhaps natural that we would ask whether the Catholicity of our research participants had an influence on their impressive grasp of the role that love plays within holistic human development across intellectual, emotional, social and spiritual domains. The question of the relationship between Catholicity and pedagogy, particularly in the context of pedagogical love in early Childhood teaching practice forms phase two of this project. It is this research from phase two which we wish to present at Grace in June 2020.
B) Core Question What are Catholic pre-service teachers' perspectives on the relationship between their Catholicity and their emerging pedagogy, particularly in the context of pedagogical love in early Childhood teaching practice?
C) Main discussion points
1. Catholic pre-service teachers definitions of their Catholicity and their perspectives on how their faith intersects within their professional practice
2. Catholic pre-service teachers' perspectives on their own faith formation within education and within key pedagogical and nurturing relationships
3. Catholic pre-service teachers' perspectives on pedagogical love as a concept
4. Catholic Pre-service teachers' perspectives on pedagogical love within their future practice
5. Catholic Pre-service teachers' perspectives on their catholicity and their position on pedagogical love within their future practice
6. Catholic Pre-service teachers' perspectives on the relationship between their 'accreditation to teach in a Catholic school' experiences and their position on pedagogical love within their future practice
7. Catholic Pre-service teachers' perspectives on the relationship between their engagement with the University's Core Curriculum courses (encompassing Philosophy, Ethics and Theology) and their position on pedagogical love within their future practice
8. Catholic Pre-service teachers' perspectives on how their programs could better prepare them to meet young children's need and right to be loved within a professional care-based relationship
D) Signs of GRACE Within the project: Grace is God’s unconditional love. The shape of our humanity is directly related to our early experiences of love. With children entering the education system at ever younger ages, it is imperative for their development that they experience true and unconditional love in that environment as well as within the home. A Catholic educator, in their journey to support each child to reach his or her potential, needs to be a channel for God’s unconditional love. It is for this reason, that we called this project after John’s gospel 4.19 We love because he first loved us. Within our pursuit of the project: Our journey within this project so far has been illuminated by signs of Grace. We have seen God's love within our student's love for their future students. Our friendships have deepened and we have formed strong connections across previously divided lines. And importantly, it has led us to you.
We love because he first loved us: Catholic, pre-service, early childhood teachers' perspectives on the relationship between their faith and their positionality within the contemporary international debate on pedagogical love in early childhood education.
A) Motivation and Interest (Background to the research) This research project is now in its second phase. As a project, it initially grew out of conversations with pre-service teachers. As educators of educators, we observed that there was a frequency of conversations arising within tutorial sessions intersecting with a growing international debate on the role of love in education and in particular, in early childhood education, where children's brains are shaped by their experiences of love. These tutorial conversations were generally punctuated by expressions of concern by students that children’s right to be loved and to feel loved was an important and integral part of early childhood education. This was upheld by the existing body of literature on pedagogical love which holds that children’s need and right to be surrounded by love poses a challenge for many early childhood teachers as they strive to meet the emotional needs of children within a professional care-based relationship (Goldstein, 1999; Walsh & Brandon, 2012). As the educators of these future educators, we decided that some action research was required in order to ascertain more comprehensively, the perspectives of our students on children’s right to be loved and how students envisaged this right would be actualised within their future practice. in 2018, we undertook phase one of this project by carrying out empirical research with undergraduate students which showed that they hold a very strong commitment and deep understanding of the role of love within their emerging pedagogy. This research was published in 2019 and is available at the following link: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/03004430.2019.1574778 We were very impressed by the depth of our student's perspectives on pedagogical love. As Catholic researchers in a Catholic University, it was perhaps natural that we would ask whether the Catholicity of our research participants had an influence on their impressive grasp of the role that love plays within holistic human development across intellectual, emotional, social and spiritual domains. The question of the relationship between Catholicity and pedagogy, particularly in the context of pedagogical love in early Childhood teaching practice forms phase two of this project. It is this research from phase two which we wish to present at Grace in June 2020.
B) Core Question What are Catholic pre-service teachers' perspectives on the relationship between their Catholicity and their emerging pedagogy, particularly in the context of pedagogical love in early Childhood teaching practice?
C) Main discussion points
1. Catholic pre-service teachers definitions of their Catholicity and their perspectives on how their faith intersects within their professional practice
2. Catholic pre-service teachers' perspectives on their own faith formation within education and within key pedagogical and nurturing relationships
3. Catholic pre-service teachers' perspectives on pedagogical love as a concept
4. Catholic Pre-service teachers' perspectives on pedagogical love within their future practice
5. Catholic Pre-service teachers' perspectives on their catholicity and their position on pedagogical love within their future practice
6. Catholic Pre-service teachers' perspectives on the relationship between their 'accreditation to teach in a Catholic school' experiences and their position on pedagogical love within their future practice
7. Catholic Pre-service teachers' perspectives on the relationship between their engagement with the University's Core Curriculum courses (encompassing Philosophy, Ethics and Theology) and their position on pedagogical love within their future practice
8. Catholic Pre-service teachers' perspectives on how their programs could better prepare them to meet young children's need and right to be loved within a professional care-based relationship
D) Signs of GRACE Within the project: Grace is God’s unconditional love. The shape of our humanity is directly related to our early experiences of love. With children entering the education system at ever younger ages, it is imperative for their development that they experience true and unconditional love in that environment as well as within the home. A Catholic educator, in their journey to support each child to reach his or her potential, needs to be a channel for God’s unconditional love. It is for this reason, that we called this project after John’s gospel 4.19 We love because he first loved us. Within our pursuit of the project: Our journey within this project so far has been illuminated by signs of Grace. We have seen God's love within our student's love for their future students. Our friendships have deepened and we have formed strong connections across previously divided lines. And importantly, it has led us to you.