Abstract
"It’s like you're spinning plates, juggling balls in three dimensions, all around you, all the time." This is how one kaiako (teacher) described her feelings when responding to the wellbeing of tamariki (children) under 2 years of age in the activity system of her early childhood setting (Engeström, Perspectives on activity theory. Cambridge University Press, 1999). The often hidden and undervalued professional work of kaiako is made evident in this chapter through narratives based upon video-stimulated recall interviews (Cherrington, Early Years 38:316–332, 2018; Davis and Dunn, Australasian Journal of Early Childhood 44:244–256, 2019), painting a complex picture of the multi-layered interdependence amongst multiple nodes of infant/toddler settings.
Two kaiako in two early childhood settings describe how many aspects of the infant-toddler setting were "juggled" to determine how and when moments of care and learning occurred and how whānau aspirations/desires provided guidance and conflict (Cooper and Quiñones, Early Child Development and Care 192:964–979, 2020). Each of these kaiako discusses how tamariki wellbeing and evolving interests (Hedges, Children's interests, inquiries and identities: Curriculum, pedagogy, learning and outcomes in the early years. Routledge, 2022) in the moment and over time drives kaiako decision-making while kaiako must also balance the wellbeing of other tamariki, kaiako and whānau in the setting. Corresponding possibilities for innovation in teacher education will bring this chapter to conclusion.