What we have identified in these narratives is that for theflow of knowledge to be
effective and useful, we need to examine flows among experienced and
new/beginner teachers. Each narrative attends to how knowledge is a shared
experience—revealing aflow (or lack offlow) among teachers in teaching teams.
The narratives also highlight the challenge for teacher education in addressing
perceived gaps between study/research and practice—gaps which, we argue, affect
all members of the team, and which could usefully be addressed through teacher
education and through research that better addresses the dynamics of team rela-
tionships. We now ask teacher education might adopt new, open, collaborative
approaches to theflow from practice into teacher education?
53.4 The Study of Flows of Knowledge
Based on our research above, it is critical to study how knowledge is experienced in
a teaching team. For teacher education, this means exploring the ways in which
student teachers experience being in a team, and reflect on how knowledgeflows
within and among teaching teams. Our thinking builds on the position that teaching
practice benefits from ongoing reflection on, and negotiation of, knowledge as a
collaborative, dynamic and open experience of‘doing’. While much research is
focused on particular aspects of quality teaching like enhancing pedagogy or
developing content, our thinking leads us to a deeper view on engaging with both
experienced and new/beginning teachers in meaningful knowledge experiences, and
with their impact on practice. The focus on knowledgeflows relies on a shared
approach to knowledge as part of collegial, team experience in ECE.
The study of teaching practice and practitioner research has a critical role for
student teaching teams as they engage in a study of knowledge. Our concern is how
to align teacher education with practitioner research in ways that supportflows of
knowledge within the profession, through a research method that is fundamentally
concerned with relationships in teaching and learning. We are interested in an
approach that synthesises study and research around notions of team and knowl-
edge, a‘critical ecological ethnography’(Dalli et al. 2012 ; Farquhar and Tesar
2016b) that aligns with the increasing complexity of praxis in EC settings, as
argued above. Thus, in early childhood teacher education and in early childhood
centres, we suggest that understandings aboutflows of knowledge in regard to child
development, teaching practice, education policy and constantly shifting socio-
cultural demographics are particularly important. Sharing experiences from future
research partnerships will provide evidence of what is perceived to lead to effective
teaching teams—what challenges might be addressed and what practices might be
promoted to enhance team support for new teachers.
We argue that an applied approach to the study of these matters promotes a
deeper understanding of the impact of teaching team dynamics on teaching prac-
tices, and on the richness of the curriculum that is constructed within each centre.
This includes how teaching networks impact on learning networks, and how teacher
792 M. Tesar et al.