Abstract

Having open discussions and the participation in research has developed significantly over the last year with the team at Inspiring Foundations. Confidence is growing in being able to articulate what is happening in practice and how to share their practitioner enquiry. Ethical encounters are an essential part of not only the research but throughout practice. The team wanted to explore what this means to the team and how it is integrated. The Federation is heavily influenced by Reggio Emilia and the notion of being co-researchers alongside the children and families. We are confident that ethical practice is fully integrated in the unique provision and bespoke curriculum. Within the Federation, the approach that has been developed ensures children are protagonists of their own learning. We want all practitioners to experience this too, developing their own code of ethics that are embedded in practice and to understand the underpinning ethical considerations that align with the Early Education Code of Ethics (2011). 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. Initial findings demonstrate the team revert to the use of technician style language when exploring ethics in general, compared to their use of language when speaking about their curriculum. The team want to build on their knowledge of ethical practice to ensure they can clearly articulate this within their approach and research.

Five keywords: practitioner-enquiry, integrated ethical encounters, reflexivity, complexity, professional development