Abstract
Early childhood education is a sector often mis-represented in the media and public domain, depicting a sector beleaguered by low salaries, lack of professional recognition and inadequate working conditions. Missing from this depiction is the fullness of the everyday teaching and learning experiences of early childhood educators, and subsequent joy experienced in working with young children and families and the significant contribution of this emotion to educator practice and sense of wellbeing. Using an online survey, educators were invited to share their perspectives of factors that are contributing to the crisis in the field, their daily encounters with children and the moments, both big and small, that shaped and guided their pedagogy. Findings suggested that while the concept of joy was embraced and validated by educators, it was also elusive and hard to define. Suggestions for validating the place of joy as central in early childhood education conclude the paper.
Introduction
Early childhood education (ECE) is founded on the belief that children construct their own meaning about the world. Such meaning is founded in their curiosity. Children spend a large part of their day engaged in play-based activities well suited to satisfying their curiosity. A less tangible, yet equally significant outcome of engaging in curious play, however, is the experience of joy. A child’s ability to become deeply absorbed in something and derive intense pleasure from that absorption, that experience of joy, is something most adults spend the rest of their lives trying to return to (Engel, 2015). The experience of joy through play serves to foster children’s relationships, increase self-determination (Deci & Ryan, 2012) and promotes positive social–emotional development. But the gains of joyful play are not limited to children. Educators also receive many benefits through their engagement in and facilitation of joyful play experiences. Engaging in shared joyful moments with children results in reduced stress, reduced attrition and enhanced feelings of wellbeing and sense of self in educators (Karjalainen et al., 2019).
Yet, across the globe, ECE and care is at a crisis point. The convergence of chronic problems with the global pandemic has brought an already vulnerable industry to its knees. Representation in both the media and research (Rogers et al., 2020; Urban, 2022) reports of an industry that is beleaguered by problems including low salaries, lack of professional recognition, and inadequate, and in some cases unsafe, working conditions. These enduring problems (Fenech et al., 2022; McDonald et al., 2018) are not unique to Australia with similar concerns reported from countries across the globe. (OECD, 2019; Urban, 2022).
The notion or perspective of ‘quality’ ECE may have contributed to the existing problems of professional recognition, working environment and staff retention. Quality programs, according to the (OECD, 2019) ask more of educators, in terms of accountability, professional learning, and skills. Yet these expectations are inadequately reflected in the financial compensation or remuneration of ECE staff with subsequent implications for the quality of life for educators both inside and outside the program walls. Research highlights how the difficult and demanding workplace conditions when combined with financial insecurity impact the wellbeing and morale of those working in the sector (McDonald et al., 2018). It is hardly surprising that educators experience low morale, stress and report a diminished sense of wellbeing (Farewell et al., 2022). It is also of no surprise that so few are inspired or motivated to become our next generation of educators. Yet, an often-overlooked casualty of this crisis is the expressed loss of joy in their role by early childhood educators.
The importance of joy
Joy is open to a range of definitions and interpretations in early childhood studies. Karjalainen et al. (2019) views early childhood settings as places filled with joy, arrived at through the everyday moments and interactions with children and adults. Their study illustrated the many ways children express joy through their actions and behaviour as well as the significance of conversations, or dialogue as a pathway to joy and deeper relationships between educators and children. This link between relationships and joy was also found for adults working in ECE and care. Gragg and Collet (2022) studied the positive impact of collaboration and professional discussions on the wellbeing and identity of early childhood professionals engaged in a Lesson Study Project. Participants described feelings of joy that they associated with the opportunity to work closely with other educators as part of the research process. Joy also emerged for children through shared collaborative activities and play. Stetsenko and Ho (2015) see joy as a characteristic of children’s play as they express themselves creatively and autonomously.
Common to all these studies is a distinction between joy and happiness. Joy is different to happiness, a feeling that Engels (2015) connects with a more instant form of gratification, or the immediate meeting of an individual need. In contrast, joy, “involves meaningful engagement, connection to other people, involvement in one’s community, a sense of purpose and accomplishment, the ability to make one’s own choices (Engels, 2015, p. 93). Ideas that underpin the Anji approach to play (Coffino & Bailey, 2019), a set of practices that support children’s play and are intended to lead to children’s sense of joy, a joy that is defined as “the measure of the experience of the child” (Coffino & Bailey, 2019, p. 4). In these experiences, adults have the responsibility to support children’s play through the provision of materials and a culture of curiosity and respect for the children’s responses. The role of the adult is not one in which they guide children towards a particular outcome, it is of co-creator and participant as children take the lead. Examples of studies that also adopt this approach are found in Finland and include an investigation of embodied learning for children’s multiliteracies (Byman et al., 2022) and of the possibilities for joy in young children’s literacy learning (Nordström, 2022). A similar attention to and appreciation of the value to joy is recognised in the Finnish National Core Curriculum for ECE and Care (Nordström, 2022) and more recently in studies from Australia (Karaolis & Little, 2021).
Defining joy
Joy is clearly present and often associated with early childhood settings and with children’s play (Hunter- Doniger, 2021). Yet is joy simply one of our basic positive emotions (Izard & Izard, 1977) or is it something much more in keeping with the notion posited by C. S Lewis (1956). Lewis perceived joy as a force or a phenomenon, “that jumps under one’s ribs and tickles down ones back” (personal communication, August 19, 1945). Van Cappellan (2019) argues that much of the confusion around the meaning of joy is due to the association of joy with happiness. As with C. S Lewis, the author also suggests that a more accurate meaning of joy may extend beyond its definition in the dictionary as “the emotion evoked by well-being, success, or good fortune “(Merriam-Webster, nd) to one that is “to one that makes life worth living in the moment because it resonates with our core identity” (Van Cappellen, 2019, p. 41). In this definition, joy can exist beyond or outside of the individual and as a state that can be realised and shared with others (Karjalainen et al., 2019). Joy can also be seen as forms of communication, actions and brought about through interactions that may generate surprising moments of joy for us and for others (Karjalainen et al., 2019). It was this interpretation of joy, that came forward in the initial findings of our research and one that we see has implications for those working with young children.
Research questions
Early childhood educators enjoy being around young children and while this may seem obvious and a requirement necessary for the profession, many educators feel that their time with children is compromised in its quality by too many responsibilities (Fenech et al., 2022). We know educators are overworked and are drawn to the accountabilities of the profession. In the miasma of administration, documentation, and other busy (but oftentimes necessary) work, the foundational affective emotion of joy and belonging has been pushed to the side, in an ‘I’ll get to that when I’ve done everything else’ kind of mentality (Karjalainen et al., 2019). Yet little is written of educator’s understandings of joy, and where they find joy in their daily practices. The research reported in this paper thus sought to gain evidence of early childhood educators’ perspectives of the factors that shaped and guided their pedagogy and facilitated the embrace of joy in their profession. This position was explored through the following questions: • Where do early childhood educators identify joy in their work with children? • How do educators define this emotion called joy? • What were the perceived barriers to educator’s engagement with joy and joyful pedagogy?
Methodology
The research design was a two-phase, mixed methods design. Phase One invited educators to share their views about the factors contributing to the crisis in the field, the profession overall, their daily encounters with children and the joyful moments both big and small that shaped and guided their pedagogy. This data was sourced through the purposefully designed Joyful Pedagogy in Early Childhood (JPEC) Survey. Phase Two included a series of interviews and focus groups conducted with EC stakeholders designed to explore in more detail the findings from the phase one responses. As Phase Two was still being undertaken by the research team at the time of this article’s submission, only the results from Phase One, the JPEC Survey, will be reported in this paper.
A central premise of this study was to ensure we as researchers heard the voices of early childhood educators. That the project gave voice to their perspectives and attitudes toward children’s play and how the resulting joy shared with the children can support their ongoing commitment to and engagement in early childhood service provision. Such focus demanded the development of a survey designed to address this specific focus. A search of the literature did not reveal an existing instrument with this focus; hence, the JPEC survey was developed by the researcher team, designed to explore the constructs of joy and joyful pedagogy. The researcher team included two, trained early childhood educators with currency in early childhood service delivery. Informal conversations between the researcher team and early childhood colleagues informed the design of the questions which were shared with contributors before finalising the instrument.
The JPEC survey was delivered online and hosted through REDCap (Harris et al., 2009) electronic data capture tools hosted at the host institution. The survey consisted of four introductory demographic questions, six open-ended items exploring the values and attributes of the early childhood profession, five true/false statements exploring the role and value of play in educator’s pedagogy, and five open-ended items specific to the exploration of joy and joyful pedagogy.
Following ethics approval from the University of Sydney’s Human Research Ethics Committee (HREC), (project number 2021/885) participants were recruited through a range of strategies that included a direct request to ECE leadership teams at non-profit and for-profit service providers. The providers were selected as they represented both large and small organisations that provide early childhood services in Australia, and previous engagements with these organisations provided a convenience sample through ease of access and immediate availability of participants (Etikan et al., 2016). The email described the intentions of the study, provided a link to the online survey and outlined the time anticipated to complete the questionnaire items. The invitation was also shared as part of a news article in The Sector and shared on the social media platforms of Australia’s largest early childhood union United Workers, Community Early Learning Australia (CELA) and the Early Learning and Council of Australia (ELACA). The recruitment period was for a duration of four months. Educators at all levels of professional experience (diploma, BA, MA) and from a range of settings (preschool, day-care, long day-care, and family day care) were included as part of the outreach. All participation was voluntary and anonymous.
Results
Overview of demographic data from the Joyful Pedagogy in Early Childhood survey.
aFive participants worked at more than one type of setting.
bThree participants chose both diploma and degree.
The educators in this survey possessed a range of personal and professional characteristics. Of the 63 participants in this survey, 64% worked in long day care settings and 35% worked in preschools. Three percent of educators worked in private preschools, family day care or early intervention. Sixty five percent of educators held a degree, 29% percent held a diploma, and 11% of educators a certificate with three of these participants holding both a diploma and a certificate. It was interesting to see that all participants held some qualifications and the term educators in this study is used to describe educators possessing any of this qualification. Eighty four percent of educators were aged between 35 and 55, and the remaining 16% aged between 18 and 34. Of that group, two educators were aged between 18 and 24.
Analysis of the five true/false items reported strong agreement by respondents with all but one of the statements. Educators believed play was a central factor in children’s learning (n = 62), the guidance provided by the Early Years Learning Framework (EYLF) was central to their work with young children (n = 62), that their personal beliefs were reflected in their service philosophy (n = 55) and their personal values were embedded in their EC service practice (n = 51). Interestingly, the one statement educators disagreed was that which asked, “Do you feel valued in your work?.” One-third of respondents (n = 20) reported that they did not feel valued in their work as an early childhood educator. This perceived lack of value is returned to later in this paper.
A thematic analysis of the remaining open-ended items was used to hear more about educator’s perspectives of their professional value, and, most importantly, their understandings and embodiment of joy in their daily routines and perceived barriers to engaging with joyful practices. The thematic analysis process allowed the researchers to extract meaning from the dataset and identify the common themes from multiple respondents (Braun & Clarke, 2012). This process involved the first researcher reviewing one-by-one the qualitative responses and generating open codes based on the participants responses. The codes were then grouped based on similarity and relevance and divided into different themes. The second researcher undertook a reliability check of the data, returning a 90% agreement with the themes determined by the analysis. These themes, as they related to joy, included relationships, play, presence, curiosity and creativity, and barriers to engaging in (and with) joy.
Findings
Joy
The response to the question ‘How would you define joy?,’ by one participant was “It’s a spark that can spread from child to child and draw others in” (participant 22). This response reflected the multitude of ways early childhood educators defined joy. Joy was seen both as a feeling and as something that was transformative and brought about a shift in an educator’s understanding about their own feelings or the feelings and experiences of a child/. The feeling of joy was something that came to educators through the act of being with children and described with care as a “sense of pure ecstasy and pleasure by observing and practicing what we love” (participant 63). The language to describe this feeling was evocative, personal, and expressed a shift in state from the ordinary to the extraordinary, “Joy is about feeling content, in awe, surprised and feeling good at a particular moment, many times around connecting with people, in my case with the children I work with” (participant 62). In addition to being elicited through the actions and presence of the children, the feeling was also described as one that existed within themselves as a result of their work, “Joy was something internal that shines when we are happy in our lives and profession” (participant 43).
The notion of joy as something transformative or a state of being was a second interpretation found in the responses. Joy was experienced by educators often due to the changes they perceived in the children, “When children reach a goal or a milestone that we’ve been working on” (participant 2) or “Seeing how initiatives support or assist families and children and truly make a difference” (participant 3). Educators also made connections to the Early Years Learning Framework (Department of Education, 2022) and included the principles of “Being and becoming” (participant 31). Connections were also made to the concept of “Flow” (Csikszentmihalyi, et al., 2014), the phenomenon in which time stands still, the focus on an activity is so absorbing and so pleasurable that the individual is fully attending, free from distractions and where daily worries slip away. This phenomenon is captured in the following response, “Being able to be present in the moment and cares and worries are not important at that point in time especially if it’s with my children, but also with other children. Their view of the world is refreshing and often leads to self-reflection” (participant 8).
This feeling of deep flow and “connection to all around me - environment, people, or activity/work at the time” (participant 27) contributed to a positive workspace environment, found in the research to be so valuable for children’s quality of care and for the wellbeing of educators (Jeon et al., 2018). Joy was referred to at times as almost a mystical or spiritual presence, “Something bigger than yourself, that makes you laugh out loud, unable to stop. For example, I was playing a ‘scavenger hunt’ in the garden and asked the children to find something soft, long, fluffy... then I asked, “What is something that is hard?” One 3-year-old boy said, without missing a beat “writing!” LOL!” (Participant 57).
Relationships
Participants were able to identify and pinpoint specific settings and conditions that led to their feeling or state of joy. This information helped us to see its presence in all aspects of early childhood educators’ engagement with children, found in the moment-to-moment encounters, as well as recognised as part of their role. When asked in what ways do you experience joy in your work, one educator reported “Sharing a laugh, sharing a funny story, letting children be children. Their curiosity and thinking process makes me feel joy” (participant 62). Other moments included, “Enjoying simple everyday pleasures together such as engaging in and admiring nature and weather, sharing stories and ideas” (participant 3), playing, singing, talking, and making art. It was these moments that led to the deeper feeling or sense of joy educators derived from relationships with the children, relationships which they believed contributed to children’s growth and development in positive ways. Joy was experienced “By having fulfilling relationships and knowing my efforts to build secure attachments have been achieved” (participant 63).
Play and presence
The educators also reported ways they sought joy and embedded it into their teaching using a child centred pedagogy and play. They described how they thoughtfully and intentionally looked to the child as the source of joy or the recipient of joyful learning. They did this through, “Celebrating their achievements, accepting their failures as part of learning, embracing their individuality and significant moments in life such as birthdays” (participant 63). The educators were intentional with their words and were confident in their ability to plan for and recognise possible moments of joy. One if these ways was through “Enjoying and supporting children simply to be. To see wonder in the world around them. To connect with others” (participant 31) and “Supporting children’s ideas and engaging in play, listening to the children, building a sense of belonging within the environment” (participant 54).
The responses in this study aligned with the findings in other research that associated joy with a positive workplace and collegial, close, and supportive relationships with co-workers (Jeon et al., 2018). Many educators noted joy in the significance of relationships with their colleagues and families. One educator said, “Most of the teams that I work with are a big part of my joy. Children contribute to joy, but it is your colleagues that makes it easier or harder.” Emerging from the data was a desire for additional support and professional learning to focus on collegiality to learn how to be part of a team and work together. While educators sought to embed joy into their practice and to bring joy to the children in their programs, they were also aware of the joy found in the daily experiences and relationships built with one another as well as with young children.
Curiosity and creativity
Our study presented that, for the most part, joy appeared to emerge and develop in the simple, day to day interactions with children, and did not require active pursuit. However, certain conditions or an image or view of the child, as capable or willing to direct their own learning, were found to contribute to these everyday moments of joy and included the children’s concentration and commitment to an experience, their curiosity, creativity, and play. Joy was associated with positive relationships or “Interactions leading to connections and opportunities for learning” (participant 60) and just by being present with children. The emergent finding that “Joy is a place to be. It happens now” (Schwanke & Deagle, 2022) was an unplanned sentiment that echoed throughout the study. Yet, despite this resonance, it was also a place that was too often perceived as out of reach.
Barriers to engaging in (and with) joy
Despite the recognition and validation of joy, barriers such as administrative responsibilities, regulations, parental expectations, burnout, and a lack of time were seen to get in the way of engaging in aspects of joy (Jeon et al., 2018; Trauernicht et al., 2023). One educator wrote: I have stopped teaching this year because I could no longer maintain that joy whilst carrying all the burdens of administration etc. Instead, I now do that work for three young teachers - they get the joy, I get the paperwork. (participant 27)
“Operating in an environment where not everyone shares the same professional values” was frequently noted as an aspect of practice that interfered with or diminished educator’s joy. Other educators cited the growing daily demands and responsibilities that seem to be becoming part of ‘business as usual’ result in an environment that ‘To be able to juggle all we do & have to each day, means it makes the days extremely stressful” (participant 15). Stressful or chaotic learning environments are associated with low levels of educator wellbeing and the wellbeing of the children. Such poor emotional health impacted the quality of relationships and impacted on all aspects of joy (Jeon et al., 2018). Children and educators were less likely to have the opportunity to experience, recognise, share or plan for joy due to the pressures of time and the educator’s fatigue and stress (Jeon et al., 2018). A telling comment about perceived barriers to joy was provided by participant 18 who wrote, “We need to be with the children not filling out paperwork. Expectations are increasing but time doesn’t. They [expectations] are getting worse but the support for the staff isn’t matching it. We need help!” Such comments align with recent studies (Jeon et al., 2018; Trauernicht et al., 2023) that connect burnout with the diminishing lack or presence of joy in early childhood centres.
Discussion: A joyful future
In returning to the data to search for a richer definition of joy, we were able to see joy as both a feeling and as a state that develops through experiences and relationships with others. It allowed us to see many possibilities for joy within ECE. The first of these was a desire by educators for increased knowledge and professional learning in areas of play, that gives permission for and brings about joy (Engel, 2015). For example, educators requested learning opportunities in “Supporting children who don’t know how to play” (participant 38), “encouraging loose parts play” (participant 52), and “Teaching empathy and kindness with the children” (participant 48). Possible areas of learning nominated by educators included promoting collegial relationships and the advancement of collaboration between educators, developing empathy for one another to respond to negative working environments, as, “no-one wants to work in a culture of blame - it is a culture of harmony” (participant 64).
As with joy, a culture of harmony can be difficult to find when working conditions are challenged by staffing shortages and the daily demands that go hand in hand with working with young children. Educators in this study felt overwhelmed by their perceived levels of responsibility and saddened by the lack of opportunity to form close relationships with one another, to plan together, reflect on their own professional learning, and evaluate the program overall. Resources such as webinars and on-site professional learning to acquire and apply new approaches would support educators in developing these skills and increase the opportunities for joy (Boyd, 2020), and improve their workplace conditions overall.
Further attention should also be given to play. Educators articulated the need to work toward a shared vison of play, whose value and eminence is understood and supported by educators, families and the greater community. They hoped to see play recognised in policy and for more support in educating families awareness of and appreciation for play. Examples of this may include increasing awareness of the intention and thought that goes into creating child centred, play based learning. Such an awareness was believed to counter the notion of “minding” children, a perspective of their work that they believed contributed to an undervaluing of the profession. Preschool orientation was identified as an ideal place to introduce families to the theories of play that inform ECE. Other possibilities within the sector could include the circulation of more resources and information to families about the magic of play and why it underpins the Early Years Learning Framework (Department of Education, 2022).
Finally, if we want to reconnect with joy, a shift is needed in our consideration of time. Educators in this study spoke frequently about the relationship between being present with children and experiencing joy. Joy was not found through a ‘scheduling of events’ calendar, a weekly or monthly planner that outlined in advance the activities and learning experiences for the children, that automatically included traditions such as Christmas, Easter, Mother’s and Father’s Day derived from pre-planned adult designed activities inspired by ideas from Pinterest and other social media. This was an approach to learning that many educators believed conflicted with a child led pedagogy. One educator questioned the generic production of cards for “Mother’s Day” for children “too young to have any real understanding of the event” (participant 54). The pressures created by scheduling and understaffing were noted as common barriers or interruptions to joy, as was a lack of time. Time for the children and educators to play, sing, dance, talk to one another, read a favourite book, and make up imaginary worlds. Uninterrupted time appeared as a requirement for joy, the space for: Having fun with the children, playing alongside them, and incorporating lots of music and movement into our routines. encouraging children to take risks with our support and seeing their exhilaration flexible routines for small group interactions so children all have plenty of time (participant 2).
Another educator wrote: I have little time to plan but when I do, I consider how an experience will make the children feel and how it will make me feel - will I enjoy it too? If not, then I tend to avoid it, or I figure out a way I can get joy from it (participant 14).
Conclusion
Nordström (2022) writes, “Joy seems to require room and openness to allow oneself to become moved and transformed within and by the moments. Joy can simultaneously be uncontrollable, fragile, potent, and strong. It cannot be forced and should be approached with care” (p. 9) For us to protect this essential part in ECE, we need more creativity and time, to value play and the connections to and relationships with our colleagues. While many of the findings in this study confirm what we know about the connection between relationships and joy and joy and creativity (Nordström, 2022), this study reminds us of the importance of professional learning that promotes collegiality and empathy, and the allowance of time to immerse oneself in the moment. It is through understanding the conditions for joy and its importance for educators that this paper adds to the field and advocates for a profession that gives itself permission for joy. Perhaps then, joy is not a lost art, just an elusive one. As a way forward, let us commit to reaffirming the importance of joy, to actively seek it out through purposeful practice and ways of being, setting the scene for it to come and surprise us all.
Footnotes
Declaration of conflicting interests
The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.
Funding
The author(s) received no financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.
