The role of reflection in the development of relational expertise in early childhood education and care teams
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.58955/jecer.162679Keywords:
relational expertise, relational agency, reflection, multi-professionalism, ECECAbstract
This study examined the construction of relational expertise in multi-professional teams in early childhood education and care (ECEC). The aim of the study was to identify how the aspects of relational expertise are related to each other. The study utilized survey data from VUOKKO -research for ECEC professionals (n = 203). The variables were theoretically constructed, and their relationships were analyzed using hierarchical regression analysis. The results showed that joint reflection was the single most important aspect of building relational expertise. The focus of multi-professional teams in ECEC should therefore be on reflective discussions to bring out everyone's expertise and thus build common knowledge and expertise. The implementation of reflection skills already during the training phase can facilitate the realization of multiprofessional collaboration by utilizing each professional´s expertise.
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