Bringing being into professional development: a qualitative investigation into teachers’ struggles moving beyond an epistemological framing of teaching and learning

The continued standardisation of publicly funded early education programmes has led to teacher educators and researchers focusing in on what works in preparing teachers and their students to succeed in these environments. Such a focus prioritises an epistemological understanding of teaching and learning and leads to investigations examining whether professional development programmes impact participants’ ways of knowing. Many within teacher education question this outcomes-based focus on teaching and learning and are seeking alternative forms of professional development. The programme examined in this article took up this call by implementing an ontological conception of professional development that re-centers the learning process through the experiences of teachers in their classrooms. Specifically, it assisted a collection of early educators in enacting new ways of professional being that attended to children’s worlds. Studying their experiences provides insight into the opportunities and challenges that exist for those who seek to transform the teacher education process.