A desk with teaching supplies for children.

Amy Found said she remembers reading with kindergarten children from Grade 4 to Grade 6. She said it was her favourite thing to do. Her elementary school, Briargreen Public School in Ottawa, offered a program called reading buddies where older students were paired with younger ones to read together. 

It was programs like reading buddies and working with children at summer camps that Found said motivated her to become an educator. Found just finished her first year in early childhood education at Algonquin College.

A new research examining how childhood memories influence future educators who are preparing to work with children found her personal connection to teaching was not uncommon. 

In 2016, the researchers of the new study looked into different aspects of childhood for a journal called the . According to Lisa Farley, a researcher and education professor at 91ŃÇÉ«, the research team was interested in investigating how children are represented in classrooms and curriculum. This area of focus led them to research how teachers’ understanding of childhood might be affected by their own childhood memories. 

"If future educators analyze the impact of social structures on their experiences, it can help them recognize and challenge the inequities their students might face"

Professor Lisa Farley

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