Article Link: http://exchangepress.com/article/aotearoa-new-zealand--inspires-us-to-reinvent-ourselves/5024865/
Study tours to different early childhood settings provide both an opportunity to step out of our daily routines and responsibilities, and an opportunity to encounter new ways of thinking that can inspire us to wish for, and to work towards, changes that we could not have imagined had we not been exposed to such provocations.
The annual week-long Inspire Study Tour, offered in collaboration between Hilltop Children’s Center, Inspire (a New Zealand nonprofit dedicated to professional development,) and Harvest Educators’ Collaborative members Margie Carter, Ijumaa Jordan and Eliana Elias, is an example of the power of such efforts.
Why have we chosen Aotearoa New Zealand to take a group of 30 diverse educators for a week of study each year? What has been undertaken there that is different and inspiring for those of us who have been in the field of ECE for so long or those just starting their career? Through a combination of presentations, centre visits, and facilitated small group discussions, we create a collective lens to explore the unique context and provocation New Zealand offers us with a particular emphasis on the following “Big Ideas” we choose as our study tour focus.
A Bicultural Framework for Learning
To ...