Abstract

The use of projects, particularly the notion of ‘relaunch’ has been successful in capturing the voice of the children and implementing the bespoke curriculum of the Federation effectively through the approach. The team wish to understand how the approach can be used to encourage more practitioner enquiry, specifically dissemination of the research. The Federation is heavily influenced by Reggio Emilia and the use of project work across all settings. Being inspired by the approach includes dissemination of findings from each project to support ongoing professional development.
Within the Federation, the approach that has been developed ensures children are protagonists of their own learning. It is hoped that in empowering practitioners to have increased autonomy in the development of projects along with the dissemination of the findings will in turn increase engagement in research.
A participatory pedagogy is ongoing within a praxeological paradigm (Lyndon et al, 2019) through ongoing reflection, documentation and pedagogical mediation.
Continuous reflection supports ethical practice throughout the study with an awareness of the nature of participatory research. Discussion with the wider team and dissemination of the approach assists in identifying any additional potential conflicts.
Initial findings demonstrate a significant positive shift in practitioners’ confidence when articulating their approach. This is in relation to both the implementation of the curriculum and also in how the child’s voice or interest is evident in their projects.
The team are eager to share practice and disseminate findings to others, developing and potentially widening communities of practice to continue developing project work.

Five keywords: practitioner-enquiry, projects, reflexivity, complexity, professional development