Pedagogical tensions and the spaces between
When my son Caleb was in his first year at school, it didn’t take long before he became alert to the Monday morning assembly award rituals. This was a time when children’s names were called out, they walked up on stage in front of the whole school to receive their certificate, all designed to be a wonderful surprise. I remember the day Caleb came home and declared ‘NO WAY’ was he ever doing that, he did not want to be surprised like that! In fact, his resistence went as far as revealing he would not be trying ‘too hard’ at school just in case he got awarded for it. He was never going up on that stage. I remember this topic resurfacing again when cross country came around and he declared his only goal was to not go fast enough to be in the top 3 because this might involve getting one of those awards. No thank you, no way and you can’t make me! His anxiousness about this possibility was real and fortunately he could express it to me whilst we know that for some children this is not possible and only visible through what is not spoken. One day at assembly and to both our surprise his name was called out and my heart just died a little for him as I watched his slow and reluctant walk up on that stage, hiding his face, trying to turn invisible but also not make a fuss. The image says it all really. When he got home that afternoon he was so enraged about the experience that in protest he ripped up the certificate and threw it in the bin then and there. The next 4 years at school involved talking with each teacher about awards and how he would only ever accept it in the classroom and NOT on a stage at assembly. He would remind me every year about this.
I share this story because it raises a few crucial points about traditional graduation events so often held across our early childhood contexts. I refer to the events that might have adult-like gowns, formal certificates, specialised photographs and group performances - I am often left wondering:
Who is this really for?
Do we take time to notice how children feel, respond or react?
Do children get a say? Whose voices are heard and who is silenced?
How do we design our events in a way that promotes inclusion for all?
Do our practices contradict or compliment our philosophy?
Can we be brave as a team and engage this conversation with intellectually honesty?
For example: if I state in my philosophy that we honour in an inquiry based approach yet when end of year events come around there is no consultation or involvement with children – how does this align?
Don’t get me wrong, I’m not a purest about these things or proposing there is a ‘right’ way, but I am opting into a conversation that positions the child with a right to choose, a right to be part of decision making and a right to educators who notice and advocate for this. I write this to offer a springboard for early childhood teams to engage reflectively about their own upcoming graduation practices. This might require bravery to call into question long held traditions or beliefs that no longer serve you or represent who you are pedagogically? I know this was the case for us as we explored graduation events this year as a group of earl learning centre leaders. It takes courage to invite a team into a place of reflection especially when their is pedagogical tension. It can feel tricky and uncomfortable. As leaders though, it is our responsibility to hold space for teams to share their different perspectives through embodying emotional intelligence, wisdom and psychological safety. This journey is worth it when childrens rights are held front and centre stage and we learn that our our views can change and so can our practices. The by product of engaging in this way as a team over time is the resilience it nurtures for strong robust dialogue into all future conversations.
CASE STUDY
This year I embarked on the journey of critical reflection with a willing group of leaders from 5 early learning centre’s in Melbourne (VIC). We agreed to research, discuss and engage the conversation of graduation (end of year ceremonies) in order to reflect on our pedagogical values and if they aligned with who we are. My goal in leading this discussion was not to get everyone to agree or do the same thing but rather be open to the tensions that arise, celebrate what is good and question what we no longer want to hold onto. This meant I also needed to put aside my own biases and focus on the importance of facilitating the conversation. Here is a snapshot of how that process rolled out:
1. We met every term with senior leaders: approved provider, director/manager and educational leaders. This became part of the agenda for the whole year.
2. We read these two blog posts so we could delve into the history and approaches to graduation proving us some alternative perspectives. We shared these across all 5 kindergarten programs engaged in our review:
3. We surveyed and engaged the wider team in the discussion as a way to gain insight and dialogue to shape our leadership meetings. This enabled us to consider multiple perspectives and get beyond our own view and become more objective. Our survey included questions such as:
What language shapes your end-of-year event for kindergarten children, and does this align with your beliefs and philosophy?
Graduation | The receiving or conferring of an academic degree or diploma
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Ceremony | A formal occasion, especially one celebrating a particular event, achievement, or anniversary
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Celebration | A social gathering or enjoyable activity held to celebrate something
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Ritual | A ceremony consisting of a series of actions performed in a symbolic and meaningful way
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Performance | An act of presenting a play, concert, or other form of entertainment
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Partnership | All parties involved can share their perspective and influence the outcome
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Adult driven event | Mostly focused on the ideas generated by adults
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Child driven event | Mostly focused on the ideas generated by children
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What motivates the decisions that surround your end-of-year event, and does this rationale align with the pedagogical approach to teaching and learning?
1. Parents like it
2. We have always done it this way
3. Children choose so it changes every year
4. We have a budget for gowns and caps so we use it for that
5. We don’t have time or don’t know how to consult with children
4. We explored alternative possibilities. This included sharing stories of practice through past experiences. One educational leader Evanna from Grimshaw Street Early Learning Centre shared "in Aotearoa (NZ) it is a common practice for each child to design their own leaving ritual from early childhood to primary school” and she further questioned how our current process was culturally inclusive? We also explored this example from Barry Beckett Children’s Centre where collaboration with the children on their end of year event had children designing their own outfits with cardboard. What would it mean if children were more in charge of what they wore, what rituals occured and how event was arranged?
We came away from each of these meetings willing to research and stay engaged in a conversation. One universal agreement emerged – we would consult children about their thoughts. One early learning centre involved in our year-long discussion was Wantirna South Early Learning Centre and educational leader Christy shared a great synopsis of their journey in her recent reflection:
We knew that this change couldn’t happen without reflection and collaboration. At the centre of this change we knew we wanted to gather children’s ideas so we started by first exploring the question ‘what is a celebration?’. We sat with all the data children gave us through their words, drawings and demonstrations and realised it revealed some common themes:
Parties – with family, friends and teachers
Food - inclusions revolved around lunchboxes
Activities – commonly suggested was dancing
Venue priority was a playground - most children with very specific ones in mind-some even offering directions and landmarks to help us find them.
The celebration was now easier to plan and reimagine. It would be a party with lunchboxes packed with favourite foods and a DJ for dancing provided by one of our talented parents. We have kept some elements of our traditional graduation from previous years as we are still in conversation about this but have softened the adult intention and instead moulded children’s ideas through it. We are still having our regular photo booth for example but instead children have designed the backdrop.
We typically had all children in caps and gowns but instead we will leave these in a dress up box as a choice. This also lead us into a discussion about consent and children’s right to choose so we have been communicating with families leading up to our celebration about the importance of noticing and respecting children’s right to not dress up, getting a photo or participating in a way that does not suit them. We recognise that parents are enthusiastic for their children to belong and take part in group rituals however it is more important to notice their willingness or reservation and be responsive to this. We decided to still have certificates however have added the children’s designs to these and of particular significance is the name change from ‘graduation’ to ‘celebration’ as we come to realise it aligns more with our pedagogical approach.
Leading this process with the 5 early learning centres I am reminded that critical reflection is not about 'getting to' the ideal pedagogical destination or a place that we all agree, instead what is truly beautiful is the journey we have been on as a collective as we make different decisions towards the same vision: to honour the child's perspective in our decision-making. The journey has been one of respect, curiosity and all within the context of research - how can we learn more. I know Wantirna South Early Learning Centre along with their 4 companion sites will continue the journey of experiencing, discussing and talking about their ‘why’ of end of year celebrations for years to come and along that journey their practices will continue to be shaped by their collective inquiry. Christy summed this up well in her reflection sharing:
I have learnt that true critical reflection is tricky, you must be open but also still stand by your values and vision. Along the way we have had to take pauses, give it time and revisit. When tension arose, we needed to step back and at times gather different perspectives and sit with them, not judge them. We had to recognise what we all value and what drives our decision making and above all through this dialogue be kind to each other. Change can feel confronting however I am so proud of the journey we have been on.
At the beginning, I shared a personal story about Caleb my own son and his reluctance ot be on a stage, you might be curious to know that by year 5 he was delivering a speech to his peers and was awarded the vice house captain role for his final year in primary school. This means he is on the same stage at school assembly that he first resisted. He made it there but on his terms and in his timing.
Final reflective questions:
How might you and your team honour children’s rights to be part of decision-making for your end-of-year transition event?
What small changes might you make now and what longer term conversations can you continue having?
Let’s not rush our children to be something or do something they are not ready for and may we always design our events in a way that is sensitive to the rights of every child.
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