Concern 2: Time and space

Policy background

Institutions such as state Departments of Human Services and the National Accreditation Council affect how staff use time and space through their policies. For example, qualified early childhood staff in long day care services are allowed two hours each week out of the classroom to produce their child observations, program plan, program evaluation, etc. If they choose - as participants in the RESPECT project did - to spend the same amount of time reading about an issue and reflecting on it, or thinking about their practice and its implications (for parents, children, colleagues and the service), their preparation work will suffer as a consequence and they will risk being regarded as ‘unprofessional’. More broadly, MacNaughton (2004) found that lack of time to work with parents makes early childhood staff feel that they have not performed their work properly. In particular, they feel compromised when working with parents for whom English is their second language or working amongst diverse cultural practises and beliefs.

Implications for staff parents relations

No surprise, then, that in RESPECT’s introductory (open) workshop, all the participants cited time and space as crucial to their continuing attempts to engage parents (and to their effects) and to their attempts to reflect on their relationships with parents. Many said that parents made demands on their time, that there was no time in the day to communicate with parents and that part-time staff may never see some or all of the parents; and some participants said that time would be a key factor in determining whether they could participate in the phase two of the RESPECT project.

Participants were concerned at the lack of adequate and appropriate time and space in which to develop more equitable relationships with parents and their concern is caught in Case Studies 1 (Jennifer), 3 (Lena) and 4 (Amber). Each Case Study highlights a aspect of the shared concern -time and space

Lessons from the case studies

The RESPECT project offers two lessons about ‘Time and space’.

1. Many staff cannot see how to create the time and space - for themselves and for parents, too - that they believe is needed to change their current attitudes and practices, e.g. concerning parents. Some feel that this is compounded by an increasing emphasis on measurable outcomes. As Amber put it: ‘Too busy!! Time!! Must meet tasks!! Need results!’. Snatched conversations at the beginning and end of the day aren’t enough; and more formal events like parents’ evenings can often be too formal, inhibiting the relaxed conversations that are required for genuine communication.
2. Many staff believe also that time and space by themselves are not enough - they need to be accompanied by access to resources, including professional development programs introducing new ideas and new practices.

Participant actions and reflections

Jennifer was concerned at parents’ apparent indifference to the extensive documentation that staff spent considerable time and effort to produce; and she felt that this was compounded by the very limited time in the day when staff and parents could communicate with each other. Nonetheless, as part of her change of approach (spend less time trying to encourage every parent to participation and more time listening to parents’ different cultural expectations), Jennifer intended to explore different forms of communication (e.g. newsletters and/or e-mail) to tell parents about her program and invite their involvement.

• A question for reflection: Can early childhood staff communicate with parents in ways that require less time than current documentation, but are just as effective? If the answer is ‘Yes’. Would anything be lost by adopting them in preference to current documentation practices? If the answer is ‘No’. How should staff respond if parents appear indifferent to current documentation?

Lena believed that lack of time restricted her ability to reflect on her relationships with parents and to consider possible alternatives: ‘Time is always an issue. Time for thinking, time for reflecting, time for engaging with my colleagues and with the parents and guardians I work with. Time for documenting everything …’ She was clear that lack of time would also affect her ability to make changes which, she believed, required, ‘Time and space for continual reflection and discussion. Opportunities to discuss some of the ideas with higher management … and … with my colleagues.’

A question for reflection: Can early childhood staff create more equitable relationships with parents in the time and space available currently? If the answer is ‘Yes'. Why do inequitable parent-staff relationships continue when each side finds them unsatisfactory? If the answer is 'No'. How should staff respond to this unsatisfactory situation?