Time and temporality in early childhood educators’ work

This article reports on the persistence and significance of notions of time and temporality in interviews with early childhood educators in Victoria and Queensland, Australia, in two studies designed to explore the concept of ‘pedagogical leadership’. Interpretive analysis of the interview transcripts of the 19 participants identified three basic categories related to the concept of time: ‘time use’, ‘time scales’ and ‘perceived time’. Drawing on contemporary philosophical discussions on the nature of time and temporality, and the sociological literature about the relationship between time and work, we argue that time and temporality merit further empirical and theoretical exploration in early childhood. We suggest that approaches that understand time and temporality from the perspective of the (gendered) body may provide a way forward.