Nurturing as a Skill Set of Professionalism

I recently read that it will be challenging for our field to professionalize until we view nurturing as a skill set rather than an attribute or a female characteristic. As I thought about the writings from the book Reframing the Emotional Worlds of the Early Childhood Classroom, I realized that this concept---that early childhood education is seen as middle-class mothering---was based on assumptions about who and how we nurture in society.

Why do we ensure that nurturing connects to gender or gender identity? Why can't we recognize that everyone can nurture? Nurturing with intention is a skill that is developed and honed over time. Nurturing as a skill recognizes several important constructs of children's social-emotionally, physical, and cognitive development. If we are to support whole child development, we need to acknowledge that nurturing all the ways young children develop and learn is a complex business.

Research identifies nurturing as a soft skill with maternal emotions. It is a skill set that is rewarded and punished in our society. Early childhood educators get rewarded for nurturing behaviors in the relationships we build with children and for the trust given to us by parents who seek nurturing environments for their children. We are punished for these skills that are seen as soft or inherent to gender because the skills become identified as part of who we are rather than what we do. Society typically does not offer monetary compensation for who we are as people. Instead, current structures reward what we do based on our skill sets.

So, how do we change nurturing perceptions as characteristics and focus on nurturing as a skill set? First, it is up to us to speak about nurturing as a skill rather than a characteristic. When we talk about our work with parents and in our communities, we make visible our thinking that goes into how we do the profession focusing on the skill involved. Too often, we focus on why we do the work. When we focus on the why of relationships, we miss explaining the structure and intent of the work. We can mistakenly reinforce the societal opinion of the depth of our profession, the intentionality, and the outcome when done with integrity. Our voice, offering professional insights to parents and our communities, is our best strength in changing perceptions of who we are as professionals.

How have you resolved the issue of nurturing as a skill set rather than a characteristic?