A fire in my heart : a story about early childhood educators of British Columbia

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dc.contributor.authorMcDonell, Linda Maeen_US
dc.date.accessioned2024-08-14T22:44:35Z
dc.date.available2024-08-14T22:44:35Z
dc.date.copyright1998en_US
dc.date.issued1998
dc.degree.departmentSchool of Child and Youth Careen_US
dc.degree.levelMaster of Arts M.A.en
dc.description.abstractEarly Childhood Educators of British Columbia (ECEBC) is the professional association of educationally qualified individuals who work with children in early childhood settings in the province of BC. ECEBC changed its name from British Columbia Pre-School Teachers Association (BCPSTA) in 1988. ECEBC is popularly known in the early childhood field as the 'Association'. The Association at the time the research was undertaken was twenty-seven years old. Because there has never been a detailed history of the Association written and all twelve of the past-presidents of the organization are still healthy despite, for some, advancing age, it seemed timely to tell the Association's story from the perspective of the past-presidents. "A Fire in My Heart: A Story About Early Childhood Educators of British Columbia" engaged a constructivist methodology to chronicle the story. The constructivist perspective ensured an interactive and collaborative research process between myself as researcher and the past-presidents of BC PST A/ECEBC. In addition to the past-presidents' stories, the Association's archival holdings were used as a source of information. A list of key events and milestones were developed based on a review of the archival holdings. The past-presidents were asked to comment on the relevance and importance of those miletones based on their own particular experience with the organization. They were then individually interviewed using a series of open-ended questions. In a back and forth process between myself and the past-presidents, a story unfolded that reflected their particular experiences in and with the organization. Using the constructivist theory, also ensured that my own biases resulting from my long-time involvement with the organization, my position as a past-president of the Association, and my association with the past-presidents over-time was not only permitted but expected. After the story of the Association was developed, themes were identified that related to several of the questions. These questions asked the past-presidents to consider: the key purposes of the organization, the accomplishments and challenges of their term as president; and the key social and political influences during their term of office. The key themes focused primarily on, but were not limited to areas: creating and maintaining relationships with both the internal and external environments; education; professionalism; advocacy and political activity; organizational structure; membership; and finances. Actions for ECEBC were suggested, based on advice and recommendations offered by the past-presidents. These actions related to the identified themes, as well as 'ensuring strong leadership' and 'being introspective and remembering our roots'.
dc.format.extent236 pages
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/1828/18914
dc.rightsAvailable to the World Wide Weben_US
dc.titleA fire in my heart : a story about early childhood educators of British Columbiaen_US
dc.typeThesisen_US

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