Building a community of enquiry with students on a foundation degree in early years

This article discusses a project designed to build a community of enquiry in the first year of a foundation degree in early years at an English university. Derived originally from Lipman's ideas of Philosophy for Children, this approach became a regular part of the fortnightly session for these...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of vocational education & training 2014-01, Vol.66 (2), p.249-262
Main Authors: Bath, Caroline, Barr, Karen, Haynes, Mary
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Action Research
Children
College Faculty
Communities of Practice
CPD
curriculum innovation
Discussion (Teaching Technique)
Educational Philosophy
England
First year
Foreign Countries
gender - professional change
Inquiry
Interpersonal Relationship
Learning
Part Time Students
pedagogy
philosophy of VET
Preschool Teachers
Preservice Teachers
Professional Identity
Professionalism
Program Effectiveness
Program Evaluation
Reflection
Reflective practice
Skill Development
Student Attitudes
Teacher Attitudes
Teacher Collaboration
Teacher Role
Teaching
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Summary:This article discusses a project designed to build a community of enquiry in the first year of a foundation degree in early years at an English university. Derived originally from Lipman's ideas of Philosophy for Children, this approach became a regular part of the fortnightly session for these early childhood practitioners, in order to support them to apply criticality to their learning. The project was evaluated using an action research approach and participant comments suggested that the community of enquiry, though challenging, had several aspects which supported student learning. These are identified as relational pedagogy, enabling discussion and reflective practice. The article concludes that building a community of enquiry was beneficial not only in improving students' learning but also in validating the foundation degree student profile as early years practitioners practising what Osgood calls 'emotional professionalism'.
ISSN:1363-6820
1747-5090
DOI:10.1080/13636820.2014.894935