Childcare practitioners and the process of professionalization

Overview 

In this chapter, concepts of professionalism in general, and of reflective and reflexive professionalism in particular, are discussed in relation to an analysis of the narratives of professionals during 30 years of action research. It shows how professionals who engage with pedagogic guidance can become actors of change and develop new pedagogic practices. The research arising from a large-scale project on respect for diversity in childcare played an important role in changing practitioners' conceptions of the profession.