Within this assessment I aim to investigate primary caregiving for toddlers in early childhood education; considering the influence of historical and contemporary developments, theoretical perspectives, quality provision, specific pedagogical approaches and my personal professional philosophy of teaching and learning.
Primary caregiving describes the relationship between toddlers and the most significant adult within their life, generally referring to their mother (Bernhardt, 2000); in early childhood education this concept refers to a kaiako taking on the primary role of their care within the learning environment. Primary caregiving in early childhood education has been recognised as the perfect opportunity to engage in sensitive and responsive encounters; such as nappy changing, feeding and observing the toddler within the environment, the observations are used to gather information for curriculum development and to communicate to parents (Rolfe, 2004).
Clarence Edward Beeby and his wife Beatrice established the first play centre, in Wellington in 1941 (Stover, 2010). The emphasis of play centre was parent involvement, parents stay with their child/children throughout the session. Play centres are parent-led early childhood centres offering quality education for children in small mixed-age groups. The play centre association provide free parenting and early childhood education for parent members.
In 1963, Sonia Davies established The New Zealand Childcare Association (NZCA) recognised as a courageous and charismatic leader, working to support private and community early childhood learning environments and those involved within the organisation. The notion of NZCA was to promote a quality in early childhood education (Stover, 2010, p. 12).
In the 1980s, quality in early childhood education was investigated leading to the development of the Meade Report (1988); the government commissioned and