Inaugural lecture by Professor Sue Cherrington
This is Professor Sue Cherrington's inaugural lecture as Professor of Early Childhood Education at Te Herenga Waka—Victoria University of Wellington.
Unseen complexity: Early childhood teachers’ pedagogical, professional, and ethical practice
The complexity of quality early childhood (EC) teaching practice is frequently unrecognised and undervalued by policy makers and society, despite widespread New Zealand and international evidence of the importance and lifelong impact of learning and development in the early years.
In her inaugural lecture, Professor Sue Cherrington draws on her thirty years of research into EC teacher practice to highlight some of the complexities of these practices and to explore how teachers can be supported to strengthen their pedagogical, professional and ethical practice.
She will argue that strengthening practice is not the sole responsibility of teachers; rather shifting policy directions can enable—or constrain—the conditions that support quality teaching in the early years.