My task is to draw together themes from this Working Forum. I am mindful of not forcing conclusions, but rather allowing the space for us to keep on dwelling in the questions so that, as Michel Foucault (1989) puts it, the ­questions remain permanently open. Lilian Katz (2008) asked: "What are the problems that as early childhood educators we are trying to answer?" Well, these are my ten concerns for early childhood teacher education.

1. A concern about policymakers' ­pottery wheels
We need policy makers. Policymakers should enable fair and equitable systems for early childhood education. My concern here relates to those who may be seen as potters, and those who may be seen as clay when it comes to early childhood education.

An example: The achievement of Māori is reported as being lower than non-Māori students. In response, recent curriculum documents emphasize enabling the educational systems to function effectively so that Māori students' achievement will increase. Such an argument suggests that if systems are effective, then achievement will increase. A desirable outcome, except that such increases in achievement are inevitably attributed to policymakers who orchestrated changes in the systems. If, however, Māori students fail to make gains, then teachers are to blame. Teachers become the blame for failure, but are absent when the praise is given.

Another example: As part of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, all states are required to analyse gains, growth in scores, or the amount of knowledge added from year to year as students progress through school (Amrein-Beardsley, 2008, p. 65). This is popular among policymakers (Olson, 2004a) for it means 'good' teachers can be statistically identified as those who produce the most gains in students. Furthermore, some of these testing methods are claimed to be unimpaired by students' backgrounds (race and levels of poverty), which [are seen to] distort all other analyses of test score data (Amrein-Beardsley, 2008, p. 66). In short, the testing regime has ethnically and socially cleansed students' backgrounds.

Not surprisingly, such methods are popular with commercial test-developers who stand to gain from the investment of between US $1.9 billion and US $5.3 billion from 2004 through to 2010 (Olson, 2004b).

The testing business in education may well become what the pharmaceutical business is to health. When policymakers run away with such ideas we need to ask the question — what are you doing to our children? We protect our children from unsafe environments. We need also to protect them from such unsafe policy excesses.

2. A concern about 'white shoe' ­education evangelists
Education is not exempt from profiteers who claim quick-fix solutions and who take the money and run. Teaching and learning are too complex for simple solutions, and are relational and therefore need time to nurture. Beware of education evangelists who promote the all-in-one solution at a financial cost, for their shoes gather no dust.

3. A concern that increasing control may cripple autonomy and build ­distrust
Control, by its very definition, serves to limit or even close down. It reduces risk of failure and increases certainty that a predetermined pathway will be adhered to. When we are being controlled we are likely to also perceive that we are not trusted to act in ways that will bring about what others want. Climates that cultivate 'conform and perform' policies cripple autonomy and build distrust.

Perceptions of autonomy, on the other hand, generally enable the opening of opportunities to explore, to experiment, and to give things a go. Innovativeness, creativity, and risk-taking thrive in situations where people perceive a genuine sense of responsible autonomy. When teachers believe they are trusted to be responsible in exercising that autonomy, then they will be more innovative (Locke, Zubritzky, Cousins, & Bobko, 1984), they will take on new educational practices and teaching approaches (Stein & Wang, 1988), they will be more resilient and they will be more likely to take chances even if it means failing (Guskey, 1988). Furthermore, they will also be more likely to be satisfied with their job, and less likely to be absent from work ­(Friedman & Farber, 1992).

As early childhood teacher educators we need to be vigilant to ensure we retain genuine professional autonomy in ­decisions about teaching and learning.

4. A concern about producing products rather than nurturing people
What we emphasise in education is generally what we get. When we emphasise achievement above all else, then we are likely to produce achievement above all else. High achievement is desirable. But at what cost? When education becomes focussed on production — namely, evidence of demonstrable achievement — then we have lost what it means to be educated. Teaching and learning are not just about achievement or quality-assured products. They are about care, compassion, love, hope, joy, passion, grace, relationship, and more (Gibbs, in press a; in press b) They are about people and how we nurture and are nurtured on our ­learning journeys (Gibbs, 2006).

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