Reframing early education

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If early childhood settings are to be truly family as well as community centred and, at the same time, accommodate how the child experiences its world, then early childhood practitioners need to view their role with a new lens. No longer is it appropriate to work only in partnership with parents. No longer is it appropriate to focus on the activities provides for children within the daily program. No longer should carers of very young children feel that demands on their time are such that their day is structured around children's routines. Already early childhood practitioners are being alerted to challenges concerning changing images of the child (Fraser, 2000; Rinaldi, 1999); the need to move beyond the boxes (Fleet & Patterson, 1998) when planning for young children; the need to attend to the quality of the social environments for young children (Keating & Miller, 1999); the need for collaboration with families (Hughes & MacNaughton, 1999); and, the call to address a community context in service provision (Hayden & McDonald, 2000). Practitioners need to address the importance of * being knowledgeable not only about the developmental needs of young children but factors affecting young children's health and well-being including mother's health and their social/emotional circumstances; * sensitive caregiving/caregiver behaviour involving a capacity to 'read the cues' that are provided by children and their families; * collaboration with parents and the development of common understandings about their child; * developing an appreciation of the social/emotional influences on young children's development and the child's capacity to function effectively in relationships with others. Above all, the early childhood practitioner as meaning maker, needs to develop the capacity to not only interpret children's behaviour in light of theoretical knowledge and understandings gleaned through effective collaboration with parents but through insights into how individual children experience their world. Finally, and given this situation, questions need to be asked about the level of expertise of early childhood practitioners who are currently responsible for working with our youngest and most vulnerable children and their parents - those children below three years of age.