Abstract:
This thesis has investigated teachers' perception of the concept of love in early childhood care and education (ECCE) in Aotearoa New Zealand, through a critical examination of love as a component of teaching practice. By examining love as a multi-layered phenomenon, the role of the teacher has been positioned as one of the key influences in a child's life through which that child may experience love. This critical examination emerged from a concern about the lack of recognition of love as an integral facet of teaching, and has argued for children's right to be loved by their teachers, and teachers' rights and responsibilities to love children in an educational context in partnership with parents and whanau (extended family). The narratives of six qualified ECCE teachers from a range of backgrounds and ECCE environments were gathered using a qualitative case study methodology. Semi-structured interviews were used as the primary data collection tool. Case study findings were supported by the literature reviewed. The context within which the word love is used prescribes its meaning (Berscheid, 2006), and research findings indicated participants' need for a definition of love they could relate to their role. The research also revealed that tensions existed between the compatibility of teaching with love and the notion of professionalism in ECCE. The relative invisibility of love in initial teacher education and Ministry of Education (MoE) documentation, particularly in Aotearoa New Zealand's early childhood curriculum, Te Whariki (MoE, 1996), was interpreted to be a contributory factor to these tensions. This research identified the interwoven nature of love in Te Whariki (MoE, 1996), and concluded the need for it to be made more apparent in the English language text of the document. The argument has been made that if this insight was more widely accepted it would have implications for initial teacher education and ongoing professional development, which could contribute to the situation in which love was accepted as a legitimate component of discourse about the teaching profession (Dalli, 2006). It has been acknowledged that significant scope remains for investigation into the concept of love in ECCE towards a pedagogy of love in Aotearoa New Zealand.
