VIRTUAL: Learning. Life. Work.

Abstract

Preschool teachers balance varied roles as educators, lifelong learners and research participants. Singapore’s early childhood educators work particularly long hours, making these multifaceted roles mentally and physically taxing. In-person meetings for professional learning and research activities can put an undue burden on local educators, taking a toll on their teaching work. To respond to these challenges, I draw on the findings from a larger action research study designed to investigate and enhance child-feeding professional learning opportunities—targeted at early childhood educators working with young children (aged 1 to 6 years)—at a university in Singapore. As part of the project’s action step, I facilitated 8 weeks of WhatsApp discussions with 11 participating preschool teachers. The aim was to strengthen participants’ subjective knowledge of and confidence in their child-feeding practices. Data from WhatsApp chat logs, coupled with semi-structured interviews, participant-generated mind maps, personal reflection documents, field notes and analytic memos enabled evaluation of the project’s effectiveness. In this presentation, I focus specifically on the study’s use of WhatsApp in a tethered approach: both as an educational tool and a medium for data collection. Findings suggest that using WhatsApp for dual purposes enabled flexible and time-conscious learning and data generation, enhancing the achievability of balancing hybrid responsibilities in teaching, learning and research among Singapore’s preschool teachers. The findings further indicate that leveraging participants’ social funds of knowledge and creating a safe, trusting WhatsApp environment were key to supporting participants in integrating professional learning and contribution to research into their existing teaching schedules.