The peer-mentoring program for early childhood educators in British Columbia, Canada, is designed to support and encourage educator efficacy, professional identity development, as well as the retention of early childhood educators. This program involves individual communities of practice (CoP), that meet monthly, in 35 communities across BC. Within each CoP, educators are paired up with a peer-mentor, whom they meet with once a month. This model of support has shown to be helpful in building the capacity of early childhood educators, individually, as well as collectively. Each CoP has a facilitator who works with the educators to determine the areas of professional development that they are interested in. Rather than a one-time workshop, this model allows for continuous exploration and involvement with topics and ideas that support the educators’ pedagogical practices. In addition, educators in this program share resources that support their pedagogical practices, which positions educators as knowing, as well as having agency, which challenges dominant images of educators (Moss, 2017). This program of support provides time and space for educators to explore challenges, concerns, issues, and questions related to their role. This includes relationships with children, families, and with each other. It also includes thoughtful considerations of theories that inform early learning and care, and include the British Columbia Early Learning Framework, as well as the Indigenous Early Learning and Child Care Framework. Educators in this program benefited from the relational aspect of the time together, and spoke about the importance of confidentiality within the CoP. Learning and reflecting happened from within the CoP, as well as the peer-mentor pairs. Through sharing perspectives, educators developed professional friendships, and felt valued and heard, which impacted their educator efficacy and professional identity development positively. The pedagogical practices of the educators were supported, enriched, and further developed through participation in this peer-mentoring community of practice.

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Sharing Pedagogical Practices Through a Peer-Mentoring Community of Practice in Canada: Supporting Educator Efficacy, Professional Identity Development and Retention

  • Laura K. Doan

摘要

The peer-mentoring program for early childhood educators in British Columbia, Canada, is designed to support and encourage educator efficacy, professional identity development, as well as the retention of early childhood educators. This program involves individual communities of practice (CoP), that meet monthly, in 35 communities across BC. Within each CoP, educators are paired up with a peer-mentor, whom they meet with once a month. This model of support has shown to be helpful in building the capacity of early childhood educators, individually, as well as collectively. Each CoP has a facilitator who works with the educators to determine the areas of professional development that they are interested in. Rather than a one-time workshop, this model allows for continuous exploration and involvement with topics and ideas that support the educators’ pedagogical practices. In addition, educators in this program share resources that support their pedagogical practices, which positions educators as knowing, as well as having agency, which challenges dominant images of educators (Moss, 2017). This program of support provides time and space for educators to explore challenges, concerns, issues, and questions related to their role. This includes relationships with children, families, and with each other. It also includes thoughtful considerations of theories that inform early learning and care, and include the British Columbia Early Learning Framework, as well as the Indigenous Early Learning and Child Care Framework. Educators in this program benefited from the relational aspect of the time together, and spoke about the importance of confidentiality within the CoP. Learning and reflecting happened from within the CoP, as well as the peer-mentor pairs. Through sharing perspectives, educators developed professional friendships, and felt valued and heard, which impacted their educator efficacy and professional identity development positively. The pedagogical practices of the educators were supported, enriched, and further developed through participation in this peer-mentoring community of practice.