Characterising the principles of Professional Love in early childhood care and education

Framed as an extension of Noddings’ notion of the ‘ethic of care,’ the paper sets out an argument about ‘Professional Love’ as both a term to comprehend the reciprocal pedagogic relationship which develops in positive interactions between primary caregiver, child and parent and as a core normative component of early years educational discourse; the paper grounds this conceptualisation of Professional Love in attachment theory (both its empirical validity and its sociological shortcomings); it then posits the dynamic of child-parent-practitioner love as a Triangle of Love which is essentially complementary to the parent/child relationship as opposed to representing any risk or threat to parents’ relationships with their children. The paper examines the work of theorists of care who have been particularly influential in developing the notion of Professional Love, and it considers the work of interdisciplinary scholars whose challenges to notions of love and care help problematise and clarify Professional Love beyond romanticised or other contextually inappropriate forms of love. The paper is intended as a provocative and explorative piece of critical enquiry; it highlights the prevalent devaluation of care/love in policy making and posits a semi-operationalisable prospectus for cultivating Professional Love in early childhood settings. Consistent with the author’s editorial foreword, tensions between practitioner, child and parent, as well as internal encumbrances placed on practitioners to develop Professional Love in the absence of policymaker support, emerge as recurring themes

Mothers, work and childcare : choices, beliefs and dilemmas

This thesis, Mothers, Work and Childcare: Choices, Beliefs and Dilemmas asks two questions: What factors are women in England likely to need to take into consideration when making employment decisions and childcare choices when their babies are under twelve months of age? What importance, if any, do mothers place on having carers in day care settings who `love' their children? The thesis begins by introducing the context and rationale for the study, including 21St century policies in England to encourage mothers to return to the workforce (HMT, 2004). A critical review of the literature explores three key themes: An historical overview of women in the workforce in the UK; Attachment Theory, and Policy perspectives in England since 1989. The thesis then discusses and justifies its life historical exploration of six mothers' decision-making about work and childcare. A four-staged process of meaning- making is used to analyse and interpret the women's life stories which are presented as `Interpreted Narratives'. Seven key themes emerged from the analysis: Childhood, Decision-making about returning to work, Influences and Dilemmas, Expressions of Emotion, and Indicators for Change, Identity and `Love Drawing on the data and key literature in the field three of these themes are discussed in detail: Decision-making about returning to work, Expressions of Emotion, and `Love'. The thesis contributes to the field firstly by highlighting the experiences of six mothers when they made decisions about child care early in their children's lives. This rich data complements the extant literature which reports broader, quantitative and generalisable studies. Secondly, it indentifies some of the complex decisions which women have to make when considering returning to work when their babies are young. Thirdly, the thesis explored the saliency of `love' in the context of mothers' choices, beliefs and dilemmas around choosing child care and introduced the notion of `professional love'. Finally, the study has developed a fourstage process of meaning-making which could be applied in life historical research focusing on other topics. The thesis argues that mothers of young children view the concept of `love' as a crucial factor in deciding whether or not to return to paid work. An original facet of the thesis is its introduction of the notion of `professional love' (the love of a practitioner for a child in his/her care) which, it is argued, needs further conceptualisation and exploration in early childhood education and care contexts. The thesis concludes that mothers' stories of their personal experiences are important and their decision- making is complex, involving compromises between `ideal' childcare arrangements and `real-life' choices of care

Re-framing infant toddler pedagogy through a lens of professional love:exploring narratives of professional practice in early childhood settings in England

There is an increased international interest in how close attachment interactions with infants and toddlers are realised and interpreted by early years professionals. It is troubling for those who work in early years settings with infants and toddlers to know how best to demonstrate healthy loving attachment behaviours as an expectation of their professional caregiving role when ‘standing in for parents’. This paper reports the interview findings from a mixed methods study which examined practitioners’ views on love, care and intimacy within the English early years policy context. It draws on Attachment Theory and Relational Ethics to analyse the narratives of practice drawn from eight in-depth interviews with infant toddler professionals to reveal the extent of their challenge as well as their beliefs about attachment and professional love. The responses highlighted the level of concern about the place of love and intimacy in non-familial pedagogical relationships with young children, against the backdrop of child protection and safeguarding following the global concern about infant abuse. The study suggests that there is a need to embrace an infant toddler pedagogy to include the lens and the language of attachment and professional love and to provide early years professionals with training and guidance on how to safely interpret these theories into their everyday practice

The Legacy of John Bowlby’s Attachment Theory

This chapter discusses the contribution of John Bowlby’s more than fifty years of thinking about attachments, separation, relationships and emotional stability. After a brief biography, the chapter considers his well-known, and sometimes controversial, ‘Attachment Theory’ alongside the work of his collaborators at the time, including James Robertson and Mary Ainsworth. A key focus is attachment theory in relation to children in their home and early years environments, and how understanding this theory is important for early years practitioners to appreciate the lived experiences of children in out-of-home contexts. The chapter concludes with a consideration of the place of love and loving relationships in contemporary professional practice and the implications of ‘Modern Attachment Theory’ for early years and childcare practitioners working globally

Educators’ perspectives on attachment and professional love in early years settings in England

In the current risk-averse climate of the United Kingdom (UK) necessarily intimate relationships that early years educators develop with young children have become a matter for intense scrutiny. This chapter draws on a field-based study which investigated how early years educators in England engage intimately with young children to meet their needs and determine what ‘love’ looks like in early years settings. Emerging from a critical review of the attachment literature the study used an online survey, in-depth interviews and focus groups to explore how notions of professional care and love are constructed within a contemporary early childhood discourse in England. The findings of the study suggest educators want to feel more confident about their professional decisions in relation to expressions of love, care and intimacy. Educators also wanted to inform their everyday intimate relationships with young children with a better understanding of attachment theory and its focus on attuned relationships