Harmon, Flora Jean (2023-08). "I Am Not Your Babysitter": A Qualitative Case Study of the Professional Identity of Early Childhood Educators Through A Culturally Responsive Lens. Doctoral Dissertation.
Thesis
Early childhood educators instruct and care for our youngest and most vulnerable population. Early childhood education (ECE) teachers are positioned and expected to teach young learners, provoke critical thought through academic explorations, and collaboratively engage with families all while cultivating a caring and safe environment (Gerstenblatt et al., 2014). However, early childhood educators' skills and abilities within the academic framework are undermined by their position in society being labeled as "babysitter" and not as a teacher (Gomez et al., 2015). This positioning as "babysitter" has contributed to fragmented investment and limited resources for ECE educators professional growth (Kim, 2013; Nelson & Lewis, 2016). According to Baker (2018) ECE educators are underpaid, undervalued, and receive limited respect for their work. The lack of respect and label of "babysitter" impacts the engagement and perception of the early childhood educator as a professional and vitiates their expertise. This identification also negatively influences how early childhood educators are professionally trained to teach and retained in their position (Sheridan, 2009). To better support and invest in this population it is important to understand how they connect with their work and identify their role in education. Using a qualitative case study this research answers the question of how ECE educators identify their role and their lived experiences as teachers. The findings of the study revealed themes that brings awareness to ECE educators' professional identity perceptions and professional development experiences and provides strategies to inform best practices for ECE educators in the field of education.
