Supporting the development of early years students’ professional identities through an Action Research programme

This paper discusses the aims, rationale and aspects of a new Action Research (AR) module developed for level 6, Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) students. The aims of the module are three-fold: First, to support learners in developing the research and academic skills needed to investigate their own practices, generate knowledge and engage in critical reflection. Second, to assist students to be active agents in questioning and designing changes to improve their practice. Third, to support them in disseminating their work in the public sphere and thus take an active part in discussions about their field of practice. Drawing on the processes of ongoing reflection and collaborative enquiry, our vision is to emancipate our students; support them in repositioning themselves as powerful agents with significant insights and the power to make a difference to their practice. However, facilitating emancipatory AR can pose several challenges, on individual, institutional and political levels. The aim of this paper is to reaffirm the rationale for AR as an epistemological, methodological and political tool that can support the professional identities of our learners; also, to dress some of the anticipated complexities and tensions of employing emancipatory AR in an academic environment.