Dispositional development as a form of continuous professional development: centre-based reflective practices with teachers of (very) young children

The nature of professional development in early childhood education has recently been reconceptualised, with accompanying changes in policy and practice. This paper draws from teacher education literature to define the components of continuing professional development practices in the context of early childhood education practice. By relating these components to one another, the authors describe a central concept for the growth of early childhood educators: dispositional development, the process by which teachers develop professional dispositions that are intertwined with their daily practices. Analysis, reflection and documentation of teacher work within the sociocultural context of children and families they work with shape these dispositions. The paper provides two detailed examples of the dispositional development practices the authors participated in as early childhood faculty within a university-centre partnership in the Midwestern US. The authors envisage that dispositional development responds to the concerns of early childhood teachers and orients them in a professional and conceptual process for growth.