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primarily to the teachers. Mary did not seem able to counter parents’ desire for use of
worksheets.
Felicia described the parent community at her centre as being very demanding.
The surrounding community is affluent, a fact visually apparent from the multi-million
dollar, architecturally impressive homes around the centre. For Felicia, the demands of
the parent population and their expectation for a traditional school model of curriculum
complete with worksheets weighed heavily on her perception of practice. For Layla and
Rose, parental demands did not seem to adversely impact their practice as it did with
Mary and Felicia. However, unlike Mary, Felicia felt supported by the Director of her
centre although she did not have the support of her coworkers. She was extremely
frustrated with the lack of support from her coworkers and, despite the Director’s
support, felt a sense of isolation within her work environment. Unlike the centres where
Rose and Layla worked, this centre is not part of a primary school building and stands
alone, similar to the location of Mary’s centre which is in a strip mall.
All the places of employment with the exception of Rose’s are single-site
locations. Three of the four centres are considered non-profit organizations with an
overseeing Board of Directors. In contrast, Mary’s centre is owned and operated by a
single individual. Mary’s centre is isolated without the benefit of multiple sites,
connections to associations, networks or community events such professional
development workshops. Mary had little access to experienced colleagues as there was a
high turnover rate in her centre with the majority of staff members being inexperienced.
If Mary had had the same type of supportive context that the three other research
participants experienced with emergent curriculum, the outcome may have been more