ABSTRACT Family-teacher relationships in early childhood education are recognized as both important and challenging. This qualitative case study used content analysis to examine the impact of infant mental health principles on preservice teachers’ communication with the parent of a child in need of early intervention. Analysis of student work suggested that they promoted students’ ability to take on

ABSTRACT The early childhood workforce needs to be prepared to support children with disabilities within the inclusive preschool classroom. Early childhood personnel standards and requirements include competencies for supporting children with disabilities and their families. Teacher preparation programs should ensure that preservice teachers engage in coursework and placements that prepare them to

ABSTRACT The importance of early intervention for developmental disabilities, such as Autism Spectrum Disorder, is increasingly recognized as critical to children’s later success, making it necessary to better understand how professionals who work regularly with young children view the use of developmental screening in their professional practice. This study examined knowledge and attitudes toward

ABSTRACT Children served in early care and education classrooms increasingly represent a variety of racial and cultural backgrounds. Such demographic changes have led to renewed attention to the importance of teachers’ preparation and practices with children of color. Despite classroom demographics, early childhood teaching practices in the United States are informed by the dominant culture. Practices

ABSTRACT This mixed-method, three-phased study examined four early educators’ experiences in implementing pedagogical documentation. Pedagogical documentation is a collaborative process between adults and children by which concrete examples of an individual child’s thinking are observed, analyzed, interpreted, and then applied to extend the child’s learning. Study results identified three themes, including

ABSTRACT Providing support to student teachers to implement participatory pedagogies is vital for understanding the importance of listening to children’s voices and involving them in decision making. At a local university in the Western Cape, South Africa, ten final year Foundation Phase student teachers studying toward the Bachelor in Education who enrolled in the Reception Year module participated

ABSTRACT This study focuses on the self-efficacy of preservice teachers enrolled in a co-taught early childhood education course on special education. The course was developed to increase awareness and access to special education through a field-based co-taught practicum course. Instructors from general education and special education shared planning and teaching roles to model collaborative practices

ABSTRACT Calling for a moratorium on damage-centered early childhood teacher education, in this article, I urge U.S. early childhood teacher educators to envision and commit to a just future for our profession through desire-centered early childhood teacher education. An antidote to damage-centered early childhood teacher education, which problematically centers the harm inflicted or trauma caused

ABSTRACT The integration of technology in the classroom has become commonplace in early childhood education; however, promoting outdoor learning is not as emphasized. A wealth of research has documented how young children learn and develop while engaging with technology or outdoor play, but limited literature exists on balancing these learning experiences to support children’s developmental outcomes

ABSTRACT The ability to notice students’ mathematical thinking is key to better understanding student learning and effective teaching. Our professional development program utilized a Child Study Assignment in an attempt to strengthen K–3 teacher noticing. We applied principles of improvement science to improve this assignment to better support the development of teachers’ noticing skills. In this article

ABSTRACT Effective parental communication is a professional responsibility that is often overlooked in preparing the next generation of early childhood educators. Preparation programs that incorporate context-embedded opportunities for preservice professionals to be involved with parents are needed. This study examined a personnel preparation model which incorporated peer coaching to develop effective

ABSTRACT This article contributes to knowledge about mentoring in preschool, which is important as research on mentoring of preschool teachers is limited. The study examines how in-service preschool teachers perceive their assignment as a mentor. The aim is to develop the understanding of mentoring as support among pre-school teacher mentors in Swedish preschools (children’s age 1–5). The data consists

ABSTRACT This research reports on studies conducted in two early childhood education (ECE) teacher preparation programs focused on increasing preservice teachers’ intercultural competence through intercultural teaching and learning and diverse US and international field experiences. Study 1 took place at a large U.S. Midwestern university with the first cohort (n = 43) of preservice teachers to have

ABSTRACT Effective professional development (PD) interventions that promote high quality teacher-child interactions are important mechanisms to support social-emotional and cognitive development in early childhood. One PD intervention that has shown to be effective is MyTeachingPartner (MTP); however, previous research has suggested that both teacher and contextual factors may moderate the effectiveness

ABSTRACT All too often pre-service teachers are not well prepared to discuss issues of racism, oppression and bias with their future students. Teacher educators can prepare their students for this work by developing projects that focus on addressing equity and racial justice. This article describes one such project in which a group of twenty early childhood education students in a social studies methods

ABSTRACT Educators strongly influence young children’s behaviors, and their perspectives regarding physical activity (PA) and screen-viewing (SV) may influence their provision in childcare. This study gathered early childhood education (ECE) candidates’ perspectives regarding: 1. the importance of their role(s) in promoting PA/reducing SV; 2. how their ECE program and personal PA may influence these

ABSTRACT Given the recent attention on early childhood mathematics education, it is important to understand how early childhood educators conceptualize the work of mathematics teaching and learning. This article describes a study of preschool educators’ conceptions of mathematics teaching and learning in the context of a multi-year professional development project at two Head Start preschool centers

ABSTRACT The field of early childhood education and care in the United States and around the globe is challenged by the growing number of immigrant children in classrooms and their diverse needs. Juxtaposing these concerns is a great silence in the literature on teacher development and education for teaching young immigrant children. Through a series of interviews, classroom observations, and artifact

ABSTRACT Teachers’ sense of efficacy refers to the beliefs held by teachers (pre-service and practicing) for completing the tasks associated with teaching. This belief is bound by the nature of tasks which includes, but is not limited to, the content, students, and context that frame teachers’ practice. In this investigation, we explored 25 pre-service early childhood teachers’ self-efficacy for teaching

ABSTRACT The purpose of this paper is to investigate how preparation for teaching culturally and linguistically diverse children influences early childhood teachers’ motivation to remain in teaching. This study is grounded in Bandura’s self-efficacy theory. Early childhood teachers were sent an online survey and asked about their teacher preparation, job satisfaction, self-efficacy for teaching diverse

ABSTRACT Using a constructivist approach to teacher education, the present study compared the learning outcomes of students in two child development courses infused with instruction in how early education and childcare policy is formed, implemented, and applied. The intervention course, however, included a community-based, semester-long early education and childcare policy engagement and advocacy project

ABSTRACT This article focuses on student teachers’ professional development and explores how the students connect theory and practice in these processes. Data consist of 17 talks during weekly seminars with 15 preschool student teachers and a group of researchers both at campus and at the practicum placements during their first term. Initially, the researchers introduced discussions with an aim to

ABSTRACT “Parent involvement”, valued by the field of early childhood education, is shown to contribute to the growth and development of children. However, what has in fact, been “valued” are engagement practices based on normalized white middle class cultural patterns. The current understandings of and expectations for “parent involvement” do not take into account the cultural patterns of Latino families

ABSTRACT Novice teachers’ need for support and induction is widely recognized, and so is the role of principals in that process. Accountability-driven reforms in education have compelled principals to increasingly focus on managerial responsibilities, whereas teachers are subjected to external assessment of their professional qualities and their students’ learning outcomes. This role division can undermine

ABSTRACT In this paper, an early childhood teacher educator and researcher describes the experience of facilitating and enacting a practice-focused course design for preservice early childhood teachers. The course utilized video analysis, practice records, rehearsal pedagogies and a focus on teacher-child interactions. The author reflects on the structure and facilitation used to help preservice teachers

ABSTRACT Coaching is becoming widely recognized as a tool to help early childhood educators enhance teaching and build professional skills. Although effective, the use of an external coach can be cost and time prohibitive. This study examined the effectiveness of internal peer coaches as compared to external coaches in implementation fidelity of an evidence-based framework aimed at enhancing the social-emotional

ABSTRACT How can online modules be used to teach undergraduate students or pre-service teachers the principles of Developmentally Appropriate Practices (DAP) for guiding young children’s behavior? To examine this overarching question, this study developed online modules with video teaching components, and conducted both formative and summative evaluations with students and instructors using ongoing

ABSTRACT This study explores common themes in recruitment and retention practices of Latinx undergraduate and graduate students that emerged across interviews of faculty in leadership positions at Institutes of Higher Education (IHE). In-depth interviews were conducted of six faculty holding leadership positions in their early childhood education programs (i.e. program chair or ECE coordinator). Faculty

(2020). Recalling childhood: transformative learning about the value of play through active participation. Journal of Early Childhood Teacher Education. Ahead of Print.

ABSTRACT According to recent statistics, fewer than 3% of early childhood educators are self-identified men. Thus, at a time when young children are constructing their identities and exploring gender roles and boundaries, opportunities for them to engage in authentic and meaningful learning experiences with both male and female teachers are scarce. The aim of this paper is to demonstrate how self-identified

ABSTRACT This study evaluated the impact of a pilot coaching project that included peer coaching in an early childhood program in the Northeast. A total of 18 coaches provided coaching with 15 teachers. Peer coaches included a participant-selected teacher or a director-selected teacher; program administrators also provided coaching. A one-page coaching form included columns to document the coaches’

ABSTRACT This article is on early childhood teacher education in Tajikistan. It is contextualized by the collapse of the Soviet Union and Tajikistan’s rebirth in 1992, followed by Tajikistan’s immediate spiral into a five-year civil war. Established as a presidential republic and having existed for fewer than 25 years as war-free, Tajikistan has made recovery efforts toward establishing stability and

ABSTRACT Strong family involvement in children’s education supports positive academic and social-emotional outcomes. Therefore, developing early childhood (EC) professionals’ competence in engaging and involving families in their children’s education is emphasized across state licensure requirements, personnel preparation standards, and professional recommendations (e.g., Division for Early Childhood

ABSTRACT Barriers and supports to nutrition education in the early childhood classroom are most often presented from in-service teachers’ perspective. Little work has been done to understand pre-service early childhood educators’ perceptions of barriers and supports before entering the classroom. The purpose of this study was to identify early childhood pre-service teachers’ perceived barriers and

ABSTRACT Although there have been calls in the early childhood field for effective approaches to preparing the workforce to support optimal early child development, there is a gap in understanding how different types of professional development predict teachers’ beliefs about children and their self-reported classroom practices. Using the National Survey of Early Care and Education, a nationally representative

ABSTRACT The US Census states that Americans under the age of five are a majority- minority with 50.2% of this population from minority backgrounds. As our country continues to grow as a rich, diverse multicultural nation, it is imperative that early childhood teacher educators prepare future teachers to embrace this diversity and provide experiences that affirm all students, families and communities

ABSTRACT Teachers’ positive relationships with families contribute to the social, emotional, and intellectual development of children in early childhood education programs. Effectively involving, communicating, and partnering with families requires a unique set of professional abilities. Teachers must hold a deep understanding of the cultural and socioeconomic needs and characteristics of families

ABSTRACT This qualitative study explores how a group of preservice teachers, all of whom had been well prepared to become primary-grade teachers, made a transition into infant/toddler group care settings. The authors used the teachers’ daily journal entries, individual interview, document analysis (course syllabus, weekly planning sheets), and weekly team planning meetings as data sources. Findings

ABSTRACT The early years of a child’s life are critical in supporting their physical development. As a result, early childhood teachers have a profound responsibility and influence on the development of young children’s physical skills. However, up to this point, little attention has been placed on the development of early childhood teachers’ pedagogical skills for teaching physical education, and

ABSTRACT Many within early childhood and early childhood teacher education are concerned about the changed kindergarten. At the same time, students entering early childhood teacher education programs were educated in these changed schooling systems that emphasize standards and accountability, which can impact the ways in which they make sense of teaching children. Thus, there appears to be a need to

ABSTRACT Web-based professional development has the potential to increase the early childhood workforce’s knowledge of young dual language learners (DLLs). Yet there is a gap in the literature on web-based professional development specific to DLLs and its role in changes in actual and perceived knowledge among early childhood professionals. To begin addressing this gap, the current study examines the

ABSTRACT Effective inclusive teaching practices continue to be an area of uncertainty for preservice and practicing teachers. This qualitative study examined the lived experiences of three, general education, early childhood, preservice teachers (PST) completing a field experience in preschool classrooms for children with significant disabilities. All three PSTs in the study were completing a semester

ABSTRACT This qualitative interview-based study examined the perceptions of 17 diverse, mainly non-traditional age early childhood practitioners enrolled in a 2 + 2 Bachelor of Applied Science degree completion program focused on children birth to age five, as to the perceived influence of program on them personally and professionally. The theories of Self-Efficacy and Possible Selves comprised the

ABSTRACT In this study, researchers examined the collaborative process that occurred when early childhood teacher candidates and engineering students partnered to design exhibits to be used in an informal learning setting for young children. The findings present data from 52 early childhood candidates who participated in the study over the course of two fall semesters in consecutive academic years

ABSTRACT Mindfulness offers a pathway for preservice teachers to develop self-awareness, which is an essential part of personal and professional growth. However, supporting teacher self-awareness is rarely given much attention in teacher education programs. The authors studied the use of mindfulness meditation in an early childhood college course with early childhood preservice teachers. This article

ABSTRACT Teaching is a complex process which includes multiple aspects; similarly learning to teach requires a system of multiple components interacting to support pre-service teachers to become effective teachers. One aspect of teaching which has implications for teacher development is the practicum student-supervising teacher relationship. The current study examines this relationship. Over 100 pre-service

Looking back over the issues in this volume, article topics ranged from preparing teachers in the areas of technology and math to exploring nurturing and love in teacher preparation and education. We had a fantastic special issue focused on Preparing Early Childhood Teacher to Assist Children who are Caught in Disasters with guest editor Judit Szente. The field of early childhood teacher education

ABSTRACT The present qualitative study explores the beliefs of Iranian early childhood English teachers regarding their roles in teaching English as a foreign language (EFL) to young learners at kindergarten and preschool age. The data were collected through classroom observations and interviews with 13 Iranian EFL kindergarten teachers who volunteered to participate in this study. More specifically

ABSTRACT Given that identity continually evolves within socio-cultural contexts of meaning, is there any perceived connectedness between place-based identity and the development of teacher identity? How might shifting personal and professional stories of experience influence teachers’ sense of place, whereby place is conceptualized through interconnected ways of living and working in time and place

ABSTRACT There is a strong national movement to improve the quality in child care programs nationwide and an important part of this movement includes professional preparation standards. Stakeholders in New York State (NYS) have developed the NYS Children’s Program Administrator Credential (CPAC), designed to meet the need for increased knowledge in child care administration. In response, Empire State

ABSTRACT Face-to-face time with students in the early childhood college setting is at a premium and often flies by before we begin to scratch the surface of active learning. Building a community of learners is one of our main goals as instructors; therefore, we strive to set up active learning environments optimal for all students. This reflection on practice highlights the text connections learning

ABSTRACT This mixed methods study examines the impact of online professional development on preschool teachers’ self-efficacy, burnout, and stress. Participating teachers (n = 89) were randomly assigned into four groups: one of three treatment conditions (course-only, conference, reflective writing) or a control group. All treatment conditions received a 14-week online course on teacher-child interactions

ABSTRACT The authors describe a major program reform study of an early childhood teacher education program in a large, urban, state university in the United States. Over a 4-year period, our team of early childhood faculty undertook an intentional and reflective program reform study to better advocate for quality early childhood educational philosophy and practice, while ensuring our program aligned

ABSTRACT ven though natural disasters are becoming increasingly prevalent, research investigating and offering practical advice to teachers around caring for children during and after an earthquake event is limited. This article aims to provide unique insight from early childhood teachers into a real-life experience of caring for children at their early childhood center during and after the earthquake

ABSTRACT One factor that put Jamaican children at risk is their exposure to everyday crisis which is defined as an existence where citizens are forced to live in harsh environments resulting from social issues including; crime, violence, economic depression, and social injustice. Guided by the findings which note children’s perspectives of schools as violent and aggressive largely caused by teachers’

ABSTRACT Early writing—a valuable early literacy skill—begins to develop prior to kindergarten. Young children participating in preschool benefit from writing opportunities facilitated by teachers. Writing opportunities, however, are often limited in preschool settings. It is important to understand teachers’ beliefs and practices for promoting early writing, because teachers’ beliefs inform their

ABSTRACT Inclusion means that students with disabilities have access to high-quality and effective instruction, as well as specialized services as needed, within least restrictive environments. We believe there are no limits on who can or should participate in and benefit from inclusion and we were interested in perceptions resulting from professional development designed to support including young

ABSTRACT Space is not separable from the learning and teaching that take place in and through teacher education programs. In this paper, we attempt to illustrate how the use of a spatial lens in preservice teachers field placement can provide them with opportunities to raise questions and understand more about the relationships between self, the discursive construction of others, and taken-for-granted

ABSTRACT Designing field embedded experiences for teacher candidates poses a unique challenge for large teacher education programs. Field experiences must include working with students, enhanced pedagogical coaching, and interaction within a professional community. Coursework coupled with field work should engage teacher candidates in a process of planning, implementing, analyzing and reflecting, and

ABSTRACT Service learning (SL) is both a pedagogy and philosophy adopted by many early childhood teacher educators. Extant research suggests the incorporation of service-learning can be effective for facilitating preservice teacher learning of curriculum, pedagogy, approaches to diverse learners and families as well as establishing a professional identity. To guide the intentional adoption of SL and