From Code to Classroom: What a Career Pivot Taught Me About Learning
Professional identity and transferable skills
In my work with children, families, and learning environments, I am often reminded that what we see on the surface rarely tells the whole story. Behaviours, learning struggles, and emotional responses are usually shaped by layers of experience, development, and context. This reflection grew out of a moment in my own professional journey that invited me to pause, observe more closely, and reconsider what it truly means to support learning well.
A Moment That Stayed With Me
Earlier in my career, I often found myself asking a quiet but persistent question: “What exactly am I doing here?”
My academic background is in Management Information Systems. Both my first and second degrees trained me to think as a systems and business analyst—designing software programs, analysing workflows, identifying inefficiencies, and optimising outcomes. Logic, structure, data, and measurable impact were the foundations of my professional training.
So, when I stepped into the education sector, it felt—at least initially—like an unexpected detour.
Rather than retreat, I leaned in. I took on roles as a project manager and later as a centre and programme manager at an Early Years Learning Centre. Immersed in classrooms, conversations with teachers, observations of children, and partnerships with families, I began to notice something I had not anticipated.
What felt like a misfit was, in fact, a quiet alignment.
Making Sense of What I Was Seeing
Over time, through learning, research, reflection, and hands-on practice, I realised that I was unconsciously applying the very principles of systems analysis to educational and therapeutic work.
In systems thinking, problems are never solved in isolation. One must understand the context, the inputs, the processes, and the desired outcomes. The same is true when supporting children’s learning and development.
Effective teaching and meaningful learning do not happen by chance. Concepts must be approached systematically and within context. Lessons need to be culturally relevant, developmentally appropriate, and connected to a child’s lived experience. In many ways, education asks us to think globally and act locally—to hold theory in mind while responding to the child in front of us.
Supporting learners also follows a familiar, cyclical process:
We observe and assess to understand strengths, needs, and challenges.
We plan intentionally, informed by what the child truly requires.
We implement strategies, remaining flexible and responsive.
We review impact, adjust, and begin again.
This cycle—observe, plan, do/act, review/reflect—is at the heart of both effective education and thoughtful systems analysis.
Where Educational and Play Therapy Come In
This parallel becomes even more evident when working with children who experience learning differences, emotional overwhelm, or behavioural challenges.
In educational and play therapy, information is gathered not only through formal assessment, but through observation, interaction, play, and emotional expression. These are not random behaviours; they are meaningful forms of communication.
Just as in any system, behaviour is rarely the problem itself. It is often a signal pointing to an unmet need or underlying challenge. When interventions focus only on surface behaviours, difficulties tend to persist or reappear. However, when we take time to understand and address root causes, change—though sometimes slower—tends to be deeper and more sustainable.
Educational therapy supports children in developing strategies, skills, and confidence aligned with how they learn best. Play therapy offers a safe and developmentally appropriate way for children to express what they may not yet have the words for. Together, these approaches allow us to support the child as a whole system—cognitive, emotional, social, and relational.
In many ways, my training in information systems predisposed me to approach this work with curiosity, structure, patience, and analytical depth—qualities that continue to shape my practice today.
What This Means for Parents, Caregivers, and Teachers
Behaviour is communication; before correcting it, seek to understand it.
Effective support begins with careful observation, not assumptions.
Progress is rarely linear—reviewing and adjusting is part of the work, not a failure.
Addressing root causes takes time, but it leads to more lasting outcomes.
Questions to Reflect On
Have you ever felt out of place in a role, only to later realise it was shaping you in meaningful ways?
What skills or experiences do you bring that may quietly influence how you support children?
When a child struggles, do you find yourself focusing more on the behaviour—or on what might lie beneath it?
If You’re Wondering About Support
If this reflection resonates and you are seeking thoughtful, child-centred support for a learner, I offer educational and play therapy services designed to understand and respond to each child’s unique needs. Support is not about fixing children; it is about equipping them—and the adults around them—with insight, tools, and compassion.
A Final Thought
Children do not grow or learn in isolation—they do so within relationships, environments, and systems that either support or constrain them. My work centres on equipping and empowering learners, and the adults who support them, through the continuous application of educational and play therapy approaches that honour the whole child. When we slow down, observe more closely, and respond with intention, we create the conditions for confidence, resilience, and lifelong learning to take root.