The journey of the Early Childhood Student

The journey of the Early Childhood student: Phase 1 

Metrics offer useful information about the student journey through the Q89 programme, but there is less insight into the ‘lived experiences’ (Frechette et al., 2020) of students, including the barriers and enablers, as they move through the programme and develop an ‘Early Childhood’ identity. This identity is important in terms of their work with young children and the impact they can have. The proposed project is the first stage of a longitudinal study which will address issues of underrepresented groups on the programme in terms of achievement, retention and progression. Students will share their experiences of beginning their first Early Childhood module and completing their first academic year. 

It is well documented that the Early Years workforce is marginalised and undervalued. Many of the Early Childhood students (Q89) at the Open University are already, or will become, part of this workforce. There is an assumption that strengthening their professional identity will support students in their work with young children. Furthermore, there is a lack of diversity within the workface; over 10 years ago, Rolfe (2006) described it as one which over relied ‘on young white women’ (p. 103) asserting that such a ‘gender ghetto’ (Equal Opportunities Commission, 2003, p. 3) was ‘becoming increasingly unsustainable’ (p. 103). Little has changed since this report was published and Rolfe’s warning has become a reality as a report last year describes how ‘The pandemic has pushed an already fragile ECEC sector into crisis’ (University of Leeds, 2022, p. 8). 

The project intends to explore the extent to which Q89 addresses these 2 issues of professional identity and lack of diversity including the enablers and barriers experienced by the students. As such it has the potential to support APS in terms of awarding gaps, retention and progression for under-represented groups. As a programme team, we rely primarily on quantitative data to evaluate the impact of our teaching including materials. Some qualitative evidence is offered through evaluations and module feedback; however we wish to engage with students in a more reflective and reflexive dialogue which will support both student learning and our own.