Language education in the pre-school years

Learning about teachers' learning through an in-service program

Abstract

This paper draws on research into pre-school teachers' understandings of language education. The inquiry focused on an in-service professional learning program specifically designed to enable pre-school teachers to improve their knowledge of language education. Mixed methods of data collection and analysis were employed in an effort to gain insight into the quality of the learning they accomplished. The results showed that the participants in this in-service program had indeed accomplished significant professional learning, but they also revealed some of the complexities of in-service learning of this kind. A case study is presented that shows how one of the participants wrote her way into an understanding of the complexities of language education, using language to learn about language. The research suggests that a robust rationale for promoting pre-school teachers' learning should focus not only on content knowledge in order to enable them to improve their awareness of the role of language in pre-school education, but that it should also be conceptualized and implemented according to socio-constructivist principles that currently frame pre-school education. This means acknowledging where the educators are coming from, and enabling them to transform their existing knowledge through actively engaging with new theoretical frameworks, writing and discussing their work with others and reflecting on their on-going professional practice.