Learner identity in early childhood education

Learner identity refers to the attitudes and habits that influence the learning process, and the many ways in which children come to understand themselves as learners.

Learner identity can develop in both positive and negative ways, and it is important for children to be supported from a young age to see learning and themselves as learners in a positive way. Developing positive orientations towards learning creates the conditions for children’s lifelong learning and self-motivated engagement with a broad curriculum.

Researchers argue that a positive learner identity is just as valuable as the more readily measurable domains of content knowledge and skills, and that it is a meaningful learning outcome in its own right.

• Encourage positive learner identities through respectful and reciprocal dialogue
• Create spaces and provide materials that are responsive to children’s developing interests
• Build strong connections between home and the early childhood centre to support positive learner identities
• Utilise Learning Stories and other assessment tools to develop children’s understanding of themselves as learners

• How do we conceptualise learner identity?
• What might positive learner identities look like for the children we work with?
• How can we support and promote positive learner identities?