?url_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Adc&rft.title=Teaching+dilemmas+and+workplace+relations%3A+Discretionary+influence+and+curriculum+deliberation+in+child+care&rft.creator=Burton%2C+Judith+A.&rft.subject=Early+childhood+education+Administration&rft.subject=Early+childhood+education+Personnel+management&rft.subject=Early+childhood+teachers&rft.subject=early+childhood+education&rft.subject=teaching+dilemmas&rft.subject=team+work&rft.subject=participatory+decision-making&rft.subject=educational+management&rft.subject=industrial+relations&rft.subject=child+care&rft.subject=thesis&rft.subject=doctoral&rft.description=Across+Australia+each+day+early+childhood+teachers+take+responsibility+for+the+quality+of+experiences+of+increasing+numbers+of+young+children+enrolled+at+kindergartens%2C+preschools%2C+long+day+child+care+centres%2C+and+limited+hours+and+occasional+care+centres.+The+qualifications+held+by+early+childhood+teachers+are+an+indication+that+they+have+the+knowledge+and+skill+that+will+enable+them+to+work+effectively+with+groups+of+young+children%2C+co-creating+curriculum+that+is+educational%2C+enjoyable+and+relevant+to+each+child.+But+many+teachers+now+work+in+places+where+they+are+one+segment+of+a+large+workforce%2C+working+alongside+adults+with+other+responsibilities.%0D%0A%0D%0AThis+thesis+focuses+attention+on+the+knowledge+needs+of+early+childhood+teachers+working+within+the+employment+relations+of+contemporary+child+care+centres.+Although+there+is+a+substantial+body+of+literature+examining+the+adult+work+environment+of+child+care+little+attention+has+been+directed+to+understanding+exactly+how+teachers+interpret+and+act+within+this+environment+and+how+both+professional+and+workplace+responsibilities+feature+in+their+curriculum+decisions.+Indeed%2C+attempts+to+do+so+are+hampered+by+discipline+boundaries+that+offer+few+conceptual+tools+necessary+for+examining+how+both+professional+and+workplace+responsibilities+feature+in+teachers'+curriculum+decisions.%0D%0A%0D%0AThis+thesis+focuses+throughout+on+the+question%3A+How+do+teachers'+experience+connections+between+professional+and+workplace+responsibilities%3F+To+address+this+question+three+sub-questions+were+posed%3A+How+do+workplace+relations+enter+into+teachers'+curriculum+decisions%3F+What+strategies+do+teachers+use+to+influence+curriculum+decisions%3F+and%2C+What+do+these+strategies+tell+us+about+teachers'+use+of+workplace+resources%3F+Concepts+derived+from+industrial+relations+literature+are+used+to+bring+a+new+lens+to+the+study+of+teaching+and+advance+our+understanding+of+factors+that+early+childhood+teachers+attend+to+when+deciding+curriculum.+In+particular%2C+the+concept+of+discretionary+influence+is+used+to+highlight+the+impact+of+the+social+milieu+of+decision-making+and+illuminate+the+dynamic+processes+involved+in+reaching+agreement+about+appropriate+practice.%0D%0A%0D%0AThe+research+built+on+insights+gained+by+researchers+studying+teaching+from+teachers'+perspectives+(Clandinin+%26+Connelly%2C+1992%3B+Elbaz%2C+1983%3B+Halliwell%2C+1995a%3B+Johnstone%2C+1990%3B+Lampert%2C+1985).+This+research+tradition+assumes+that+teachers+can+manage+uncertainty+and+aims+to+capture+and+portray+their+complex%2C+situated+knowledge+about+what+it+means+to+teach.+In+keeping+with+this+tradition+this+thesis+focuses+on+how+teachers+deal+with+the+teaching+dilemmas+arising+at+the+intersection+of+professional+and+workplace+demands.+Long-term+qualitative+study+with+four+teachers+working+in+various+position+at+two+Queensland+child+care+centres+led+to+the+construction+of+theory+grounded+in+teacher+perspectives+on+practicing+in+the+workplace.+On+the+basis+of+analysis+of+the+ongoing+dilemmas+experienced+by+the+collaborating+teachers+three+issues+were+selected+for+in-depth+study.+These+were+professional+concerns+about+curriculum+coherence+-+encompassing+notions+such+as+consistency+of+approach%2C+relevance+and+continuity+of+care+-+and+workplace+relations+concerns+regarding+the+temporal+organisation+of+work+and+the+extent+of+adult+interaction.%0D%0A%0D%0AThere+are+two+core+findings.+The+first+is+that+workplace+relations+are+enmeshed+in+teacher+decisions+not+simply+as+constraints+on+practice%2C+but+also+as+resources+that+can+be+mobilised+to+teach+effectively.+Teachers+draw+on+workplace+resources+to+realign+problematic+elements+of+practice+and+achieve+core+purposes+of+early+childhood+education+in+different+ways.+The+second+finding+is+that+discretionary+influence+over+curriculum+decisions+is+a+key+workplace+resource.+Deciding+curriculum+in+child+care+inevitably+involves+teachers+in+intensive+interaction+with+other+adults.+This+includes+people+whose+positions+give+them+the+power+to+make+key+decisions+affecting+curriculum+philosophy+and+practice+and+those+whose+work+in+contact+with+children+gives+them+influence+over+the+realisation+of+centre+philosophy.+Teachers'+ability+to+exercise+discretionary+influence+over+other+adults+is+a+function+of+the+position+they+occupy+in+the+centre+hierarchy+and+is+also+intimately+connected+with+their+perceptions+of+themselves+in+relation+to+those+with+whom+they+work.+Teachers+find+they+need+to+be+skilled+negotiators+to+create+and+maintain+the+conditions+necessary+for+education+to+take+place.&rft.publisher=Queensland+University+of+Technology&rft.date=1999&rft.type=Thesis&rft.format=application%2Fpdf&rft.relation=https%3A%2F%2Feprints.qut.edu.au%2F36590%2F1%2F36590_Digitised%2520Thesis.pdf&rft.rights=free_to_read&rft.relation=Burton%2C+Judith+A.+(1999)+Teaching+dilemmas+and+workplace+relations%3A+Discretionary+influence+and+curriculum+deliberation+in+child+care.+PhD+thesis%2C+Queensland+University+of+Technology.&rft.id_number=https%3A%2F%2Feprints.qut.edu.au%2F36590%2F&rft.rights=Copyright+Judith+Ann+Burton&rft.identifier=Faculty+of+Education