Essi Hanhikoski

This study investigated early childhood educators’ identity construction in their narratives of emotion-laden situations with children. Narrative analysis was conducted with Greimas’s actantial model on video-cued interviews with 15 educators. Two narratives were identified: in the narrative of educators managing their emotions, educators’ negative emotions connected to challenging interactions with children shattered the identity of the professional educator. In the narrative of educators rejoicing in their success, the trust and affection expressed by children evoked positive emotions, and the sense of inadequacy created by insufficient resources challenged the warm, child-centred educators’ identity. In their narrations, educators commit to an ideal educator identity in close relationships with children, but also describe the emotional labour involved in working with children to manage their own negative emotions. The study enhances understanding of the interconnection between professional identity and emotions, the construction of professional identity through small moments in everyday life and the importance of emotional labour from the perspective of professional identity in early childhood education and care (ECEC).

This study investigates expectations of teamwork and related emotions as described by Finnish early childhood education practitioners. The data, which consist of video-cued interviews with 15 practitioners in early childhood education and care (ECEC), are examined with narrative-discursive analysis. Emotions are approached from a socio-constructivist perspective as narratively constructed. The results are presented as three narratives identified based on teamwork expectations: 1) narrative of inadequacy,2) narrative of injustice,and 3) narrative of support. The narratives describe how time constraints and unexpected changes in teamwork dictated from the top-down produce negative emotional narratives, as well as how the team’s expected support for each other evokes positive emotions and builds communality. The findings show that not only is teamwork an important emotional context in ECEC but also the limited possibilities for influencing teamwork practices evoke negative emotions that can affect the quality of teamwork and well-being at work in ECEC.

The purpose of this narrative study was to examine early childhood education and care (ECEC) teachers' narratives of their professional identity. The aim was to use six narrative interviews to find out how ECEC teachers narrate their professional identity and which experiences are relevant in shaping their professional identity. In the study, identity is seen as a social construction and a narratively structured process that takes shape throughout life. As a result of the narrative analysis, three types of stories describing teachers' professional identity emerged: Biographical stories, Value stories and Interaction stories. Based on the findings, the core value of acting in the best interests of the child is an integral part of ECEC teachers' professional identity, while scarce organizational resources and interactional conflicts challenge ECEC teachers' professional identity. Professional agency, that is, the opportunity to act in accordance with professional ethics and one's values in collaboration with a multiprofessional team and colleagues, plays an important role.