Preparing students for the ‘emotion work’ of early years practice

This article explores the emotional demands made upon the early years practitioner. It is primarily a discussion paper, but it also draws upon empirical evidence from previous, small-scale research carried out by the authors with early years student practitioners. Our discussion explores the wide-ranging inter-personal and emotional demands placed upon the early years professional within a context of low status and limited acknowledgement of the complexities inherent in the role. We focus upon the demands of advanced empathy and the emotional aspect of working with children, parents and families. In this article we ask just how well-equipped early years students are for the emotional requirements of their future role and what we, as tutors, might do to better prepare them.