Contextualised, not Neoliberalised Professionalism in Early Childhood Education and Care: Effects of Prescribed Notions of Quality on Educator Confidence in Australia

There is a standardised neoliberal inspired notion of what professionalism entails for early childhood educators. These standards tend to infiltrate much of the literature, reporting and pre-service educator training, creating a notion that educators are never quite good enough at what they do. Although constant reflection and aiming for excellence are strongly held Western ideals, the effect on educator confidence and their ability to recognise their own strengths and achievements can be real. This discussion paper seeks to challenge the idea that good quality early childhood practice can always be identified and standardised, arguing the need for professional discretionary decision-making in order to adjust practice to context. Drawing on an example from an Australian service, where knowledge, care, partnership and support for potentially vulnerable families to support their children was highly valued by parents, it illustrates that such qualities can go unrecognised by the staff themselves. What we risk losing when we prescribe what quality entails will be of interest to educational leaders, researchers and those who teach pre-service educators.