The Context
The MPEC portal is taking place within the Early Childhood Professional Practice Partnerships (ECP3) program funded by the Victorian Department of Education and Training. The ECP3 has been developed as part of the three-year funded initiative to support engagement in the early childhood education profession.
In 2020, the University of Melbourne aimed to share insights into the experience of early childhood teachers in their role as mentors, as well as to support pre-service teachers during their practicum experience. We looked at building strong evidence base to guide mentors to create opportunities for pre-service teachers to benefit from experiences that encourage their growth and engagement in the early childhood education and care profession. The project was based on a co-design model where mentor teachers, early childhood centre directors and pre-service teachers provided feedback on their current practice and experience. This informed the development of training modules designed to support and extend mentor teacher capacity in their mentoring role.
The Portal
Following pre-service teachers’ feedback, and conversations with mentor teachers, we have created a permanent online communication platform, the MPEC, to engage early childhood education services and university academics in a collaborative and ongoing discussion on mentoring pre-service teachers on placements. As well as being a place for professional dialogue over ways to improve mentoring practice, this platform also aims to support the mentor teachers’ role. It contains information on placement requirements and expectations, journal articles and other resources to support an evidence-based approach to improving professional practice, discussion boards and regular opportunities to meet with practice specialists such as academics and industry leaders.
About us
Dr Edith Nicolas
Edith is a lecturer in the Faculty of Education. She is leading the ECP3 project, which aims to support early childhood teachers in their mentoring capacity and improvement of practicum experience for pre-service teachers.
Edith’s other area of research is in early childhood language development and bilingualism. She has recently been involved in the Early Childhood Language Program project, researching best evidence practice and developing material to support the implementation of the second language teaching program in preschool settings across Victoria. She is also currently part of the South Australian Early Childhood Literacy Project, providing training to teachers in early childhood language and pre-literacy development.
Parian Madanipour
Parian is a research fellow at The University of Melbourne where she is managing the Faculty of Education’s ECP3 project. As a qualified early childhood teacher, she has also been a clinical teaching specialist for Master of Teaching candidates, supporting their professional practice whilst on placement. Parian is currently enrolled in a PhD.
Associate Professor Jane Page OAM
Dr Jane Page is an associate professor in the Faculty of Education at The University of Melbourne and Associate Director, Pedagogy and Leadership Research in the REEaCh Hub. She has also been the research consultant on the ECP3 project. Jane has worked in the early childhood field for over thirty years both as a director and teacher in early childhood services as well as teaching and researching in the university sector. Jane’s research interests include teacher effectiveness, coaching, educational leadership and the application of human rights principles in early childhood settings.
Iwandee Suvanmani
Iwandee has worked in the Early Childhood Sector for 20 years. She has worked as a kindergarten teacher, in management and leadership roles and has also support Masters of Teaching candidates in their placement practices as a Clinical Teaching Specialist in the Faculty of Education.