Lemisko, Lynn2023-03-312023-03-3120232023-032023-03-31March 2023https://hdl.handle.net/10388/14545In the face of increased public interest and government investment, Canadian policy makers and early childhood educators (ECEs) now have choices to make about the meaning and purpose of early childhood education within this country. The choices made now will have a considerable impact on the lives of our youngest children and those who devote their lives to learning with them. This study fills a gap in research in the field of early childhood education and gives visibility to Early Childhood Educator’s experiences that led them into the early learning field and how they conceptualize and experience their work. Grounded within a social constructivist perspective, this study dances with a bricolage approach to research that weaves together feminist epistemology, ethnographic research, a figured worlds framework, the hundred languages of children, a pedagogy of listening and a life history approach to describe and gain meaning from stories of becoming and being an ECE in Yukon. The findings make visible how dominant discourses, workplace contexts, and the larger structures of the field of ECE and our society, interact with ECEs’ negotiation of their professional identities. Prevalent within the stories of being an ECE in Yukon was a culture of isolation that stemmed from the current governing system and the market model approach to early learning that dominates the field. Findings aligned with previous research and revealed that the image of early childhood education in Yukon is shaped by dominant discourses that are steeped in issues related to gender, a persistent care vs education dichotomy, and economic investment discourses (Arndt et al., 2021; Langford et al., 2017; Lightfoot & Frost, 2014; MacDonell & McCorquodale, 2019; Moss, 2006; Moss 2004; Tukonic & Hardwood, 2016; Tukonic & Hardwood, 2017; Woodrow, 2007). Participants' stories highlighted a pervasive culture of isolation in the field, leading to feelings of being unseen and unheard, and ultimately, the rejection of an Early Childhood Educator professional identity in Yukon. The overarching findings indicated that while current investments within the field have the potential positivity influence societal perceptions and working conditions for ECEs there is still a long way to go before the early childhood education in Yukon is recognized and valued as a profession. Ultimately, ECEs in Yukon remain undervalued and underappreciated.application/pdfenEarly childhood educator, professional identity, YukonThesis2023-03-31