THE IMAGE OF A CARER ‘MINDING’ babies and toddlers has been transformed with the professionalisation of care in early childhood education and care (ECEC) services in Aotearoa/New Zealand. This occurred with the introduction of the national early childhood curriculum, Te Whāriki, in 1996 (Ministry of Education, 1996). Another key influence is the 10-year strategic plan to improve quality, introduced in 2002 (Ministry of Education, 2002) requiring that from 2007, 50 per cent of teachers in all teacher-led early childhood services would be qualified and registered, with the goal of 100 per cent by 2012 (recently changed to 50 per cent for infant-toddler teachers). The author proposes that this shift to an educational framework means early childhood professionals with infants and toddlers should consider their identity as a ‘teacher’ rather than a ‘caregiver’, and articulate a pedagogy of care.
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