This study aimed to gain an in-depth understanding of the unique cultural characteristics of an early childhood teacher community and the processes through which professional expertise and identity are formed within it. A cultural ethnographic research method was employed. Over a period of three months, from April to June 2025, the study was conducted through participant observation and in-depth interviews with a voluntary group of fellow teachers who had previously worked at a daycare center operated by the researcher. The collected data were analyzed using domain analysis and taxonomic analysis. Wenger’s theory of communities of practice was applied as the interpretive framework. The results revealed that the teacher community transcended a mere space for socializing or relieving everyday stress, embodying a fluid community of practice interwoven with shared sensations, emotions, and experiences. Teachers responded sensitively to each other’s words, gestures, facial expressions, and contextual cues, naturally forming relational rhythms in which individual roles were not fixed but dynamically differentiated according to the situation. At times, they moved fluidly between relational roles such as mother, older sister, friend, and younger sibling, embracing one another’s presence with care. This relationality unfolded not through hierarchy or direct authority but through an ethic of responsiveness and care. The meeting time was more than a space for exchanging information or sharing strategies; it was itself a dynamic process in which members resonated with one another’s stories and transformed together. The experiences shared by individual teachers were reinterpreted and appropriated through the gaze and responses of others, serving as a critical moment for reconstructing their professional identities and expertise. Notably, this relational process revealed that educational practice is not the isolated act of an individual but is made possible through ethical relationships that embrace the existence and experiences of others. The stories shared among teachers went beyond mere anecdotes; through mutual responsiveness, they were transformed and expanded, reemerging as living, embodied practical knowledge. This provides important insight into how knowledge is generated, circulated, and embodied within communities of practice and how it influences the practical engagement of individual teachers. Ultimately, this study confirmed that teachers are not isolated individuals, but being deeply connected through their lives and practices, forming a community of practice that cultivates ethics, identity, and professionalism collectively.

Keywords: Early Childhood Teacher, Cultural ethnography, Community of Practice, Teacher Identity, Teacher professionalism.