CONTRIBUTING TO RECENT RESEARCH findings and discussion about educators' multiple understandings and enactments of intentional teaching, this paper sheds light on why early childhood educators might find the practice of intentional teaching problematic. It presents research findings from a study conducted in the state of Victoria a decade ago that investigated how dominant discourses influence teacher decision making in early childhood education and care (ECEC). The study found that teacher-directed practice was legitimated, marginalised and silenced by teachers in the study. Through the process of looking back to look forward, insights gained from a critical discourse analysis illustrate why intentional pedagogies, such as intentional teaching and teacher-directed practice, might be difficult pedagogical practices in ECEC in Australia.
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