Assessing Beliefs of Preservice Early Childhood Education Teachers Using Q-Sort Methodology

The purpose of this study was to assess the beliefs of students and faculty in a 4-year birth–kindergarten teacher preparation program using the Teacher Belief Q-Sort (TBQ). Data were collected over one academic year from a total of 63 students, 35 students at the beginning of their coursework and 28 students at the end of their program, completing their student teaching experience. The faculty (n = 8) in the program completed the TBQ to provide a criterion sort as well as to assess the consistency in philosophy across faculty members who teach preservice teachers. Compilations of rankings are presented to describe beliefs related to children, discipline, and teaching practices held by students who are at different points in their education program. Criterion comparison results indicate that student teachers at the end of their education program report beliefs more similar to faculty beliefs than students at the beginning of their education program. However, findings suggest that the student teaching experience does not appear to significantly alter beliefs about children, discipline and teaching practices. These results are discussed in terms of child-directed versus teacher-directed styles of preservice teachers and implications of assessing beliefs for teacher preparation programs.     

Against the Unchallenged Discourse of Homelessness: Examining the Views of Early Childhood Preservice Teachers

Abstract

Because of the link between teacher training and higher‐quality classroom practice, early childhood researchers and professional organizations have placed an increasing emphasis on all early childhood teachers—including those in early care and education (ECE) settings—obtaining a minimum of a Bachelor's degree as part of their professional development. Given the differing licensure requirements for ECE teachers, the variety of settings early childhood teachers work in, and the creativity needed to respond to the changing roles teachers play in those settings, however, this paper offers an additional perspective that is sometimes left out of the discussion regarding what teachers need: that of the early childhood practitioner. Using conversations with both a certified, public school teacher and a non‐certified teacher in a private ECE setting in New Jersey, this article reports on these teachers’ professional development experiences, as well as the implications of their experiences for future considerations of what teachers need in order to enhance their growth as educators.     

Early Childhood Preservice Teachers' Use of Verbal and Non-Verbal Guidance Strategies Across Classroom Contexts

Observations of preservice teachers often lack information about specific strategies they use when guiding children's behavior. This study investigated how preservice teachers used verbal and non-verbal behavior modification techniques within structured and transition classroom contexts. Using an on-the-mark 20-second observe and 10-second record method, eleven preservice teachers were observed in classrooms for two morning hours. A repeated measures MANOVA revealed two significant two-way interactions, which included types of modification techniques and types of contexts (Wilks's λ = .38, F(2, 9) = 7.37, p .05, Cohen's f = .88) and types of communication skills and types of contexts (Wilks's λ = .64, F(1, 10) = 5.53, p .05, Cohen's f = .74). Implications for future research and practice include more focused observations of preservice teachers and children's responses to various verbal and non-verbal strategies along with more education about how to use positive guidance strategies in real-life classroom situations.     

Moving Fiercely Linear Preservice Teachers into the Joys of Integrating Art in the Classroom: An Artist Residency in a University Early Childhood and Special Education Program

How can artist residencies for preservice teachers plant seeds for future classrooms? Teacher educators and a teaching artist describe a two-tiered residency in an early childhood and special education program that transformed preservice teachers' attitudes toward visual art and arts integration. Findings are based on teaching artist and instructor reflections as well as a qualitative analysis of student journal entries. Preservice teachers who had no prior art training and were resistant toward abstract painting began to enjoy it and appreciate the value of art for children's learning. They came to recognize visual art as a tool to support social development and children with special needs, understood the importance of process in children's art experiences, and considered ways to integrate art throughout the curriculum. We urge teacher educators and teaching artists to incorporate artist residencies into teacher education programs to prepare future teachers to integrate the arts into the classrooms of tomorrow.     

Making Research Relevant in Preservice Early Childhood Teacher Education

Increasingly, researchers, teacher educators and governmental agencies underline the need for early childhood professionals to be able to conduct and use relevant research in their practice. In contrast, early childhood teachers tend to draw exclusively on practical advice rather than research evidence to evaluate and develop their teaching. To address these contradictions in expectations, recently developed preservice early childhood teacher education programs have included a core research subject that aims to foster an appreciation of the value of research and its contributions to professional practice. This study examines the effectiveness of teaching and learning approaches designed to make research relevant to undergraduates at an Australian regional university by tracking students' changing views about research during a one-semester teaching period. The findings of this study show that relevant learning experiences, such as designing and conducting a simple research project, modeling research, collaborative inquiry, focused reading, and organizing a research conference, significantly changed student perceptions of the relevance of research to their teaching and their future role as early childhood professionals.     

Community Engagement Project for Preservice Early Childhood Students

This article describes how a preservice early childhood program collaborates with a local agency in a community engagement project. The project was implemented in a family–community partnership class for preservice teachers. There were three purposes for this project. First, to build a partnership between the University of Alaska Anchorage Bachelor of Arts in Early Childhood (BAEC) program and a local child care center; second, to provide support for the child care center’s administration and teachers based on their needs and interests; and third, to offer authentic opportunities and experiences for preservice BAEC students to work with the children and their families. This project was a semester-long endeavor, which evolved through rich collaborative experiences.     

INTRODUCTION TO SPECIAL ISSUE: Vygotskian Perspectives in Early Childhood Education: Translating Ideas into Classroom Practice

This special topic issue of Early Education and Development is devoted to Vygotskian and/or CHAT (Cultural Historical Activity Theory) perspectives on early childhood education. Although the ideas of Soviet developmental/educational psychologist, Lev Vygotsky (1896-1934), and those of his followers, are now central theoretical grounding within the field of early childhood education (Berk & Winsler, 1995; Bodrova & Leong, 1996; Bredekamp & Copple, 1997), it is still often a challenge understanding and implementing Vygotskian and neo- Vygotskian ideas in early childhood classrooms. Perhaps this is due to the fact that many of the central constructs within this tradition (i.e., scaffolding, zone of proximal development...) have often been conceptualized and empirically examined at the one-on-one, adult-child level, rather than at the level of classroom processes. Or perhaps the inherent conceptual and methodological complexities of socio-cultural, historical, and semiotic analyses become an obstacle to effective integration of scholarship and practice in this area. Indeed, Vygotskian theory forces us to think about not only the child and his or her current activities, but also about the child's history of previous experiences, the cultural backdrop and meaning that such activities have for the child, the social context in which that particular activity occurs in the classroom, the structure of the larger classroom context and the opportunities afforded by the available tools and cultural artifacts to be found there, and the way that teachers and other children "mediate" children's experiences in the classroom via social interaction and language use. Clearly, it is difficult in both theory and practice to think about and coordinate these multiple levels, but it is certainly worth the time and effort to do so. The goal of this special issue was to compile a selection of both empirical and theoretical papers that would help toward that effort and make a significant contribution to advancing early childhood policy, practice, and applied developmental science by both informing, and learning from, practice in early childhood settings. Although the subtitle for this issue, "Translating Ideas into Classroom Practice," might appear to suggest the existence of a unidirectional path from theory to practice, the Vygotskian dialectical perspective and contemporary applied developmental science in general views theory and practice as being inseparable, intimately intertwined, with each informing the other and both evolving dynamically together over time.     

The Context of Educational Measurement Instruction for Preservice Teachers: Professor Perspectives

Professors from 28 mid-western colleges responded to a questionnaire on the nature of educational measurement instruction provided to students in preservice teacher education programs. The results reported here offer insight Into (a) course and student characteristics (b) professors' educational preparation and experience, and (c) learning/ instructional activities and content emphases. These characteristics, together with findings of previous research, serve as a basis for suggestions regarding the limitations of this instruction in light of teacher needs and perceived changes needed In educational measurement instruction.     

Investigating the Unit of Study Approach as a Way to Teach Writing to Early Childhood Education Preservice Teachers

The purpose of this study was to better understand the learning opportunities within a university writing methods course centering on a unit of study experience. Specifically, we wanted to investigate what early childhood education preservice teachers (PSTs) learn about poetry and the writing process when engaged in a poetry unit of study. Our findings revealed that a unit of study format: (a) served as a vehicle to deconstruct and develop new genre awareness; (b) helped PSTs live process aspects of writing instruction; and (c) supported PSTs in developing genre-specific knowledge through the use of mentor texts.     

Inclusion and Classroom Membership in Early Childhood

Using qualitative methods, this study examined classroom membership in an early childhood setting which included a young boy with multiple disabilities. Participant observation and interview data were gathered over a 6 month period. Themes emerged and were arranged according to three primary categories: (a) Shared and Meaningful Experiences, (b) Quality of Interpersonal Interactions with Peers, and (c) Practices that Contribute to Building Community. Findings revealed that there were deliberate and ongoing efforts to create a strong sense of community within the classroom.     

Early Childhood Education in Societal Context: Teachers in Three Countries Speak About Early Childhood Education

Building on the cross-cultural patterns and systems research as well as social constructivism, in-depth interviews were conducted with key informant early childhood teachers in three regions with similar characteristics in Sweden, Russia, and in the United States. Inductive analyses revealed differences in responses among Swedish, Russian and American informants related to the macro-, meso-, and micro-levels of societal system. United States teacher informants had a great number of separate topic comments and distributed them more evenly across all levels than did Russian and Swedish teacher informants who had more emphasis at the meso level. United States and Russian teacher informants discussed the lack of societal support for young children and their families, while Swedish teacher informants seemed to almost take this support for ranted. United States teacher informants suggested that early childhood programs were important in developing support networks among parents, while Russian teacher informants often gave information to parents and Swedish teachers spoke about mutually sharing information. United States teacher informants desired both strict rules with strong academic content and extension of the child's initiations through play; they emphasized activities and materials. Swedish teachers discussed a child- centered approach to social learning and creativity and desired to be with children rather than do activities with them. Russian teacher informants emphasized the importance of obedience, aesthetic education, and preparation for school and the labor of the larger society. These study outcomes deepen understanding about the multidemensional relationships between early childhood programs and societal contexts in which they are embedded, and they suggest alternative approaches to working with young children and their families.     

美国学前教育师资培养的方式、特点及其启示

在学前教育受到政府高度重视的背景下,美国学前教育教师培养已形成一个起点高、体制完备、操作性强的有机体系,重视职前培养、新教师入职培训与在职教师专业发展培训的一体化,具有以下突出特点:政府立法确保学前教育师资培训的实施,并给予资金保障;采用专业权威团体研发的标准化评估体系保证学前教育师资培训质量;将教师培训与教师资格认证制度相结合,促使幼儿教师不断追求卓越与优秀;职前培训、入职培训与在职培训的密切联系规划了幼儿教师的专业成长生涯.在实际实施中,美国学前教育师资培养体系也存在一些不足,如评价标准与资格认证制度的推行存在一定难度;所采用的标准化评估体系也并非完美无缺;专业发展培训的实效不是很令人满意.立足我国国情,我们还是可以从美国学前教育师资培养中学到以下宝贵经验:应尽快制定我国幼儿教师教育标准,设立以实践为目标,以教学为核心的评价体系和考核制度,提高幼教师资整体质量,促进幼儿教育职业的专业化;加强师范院校与幼教机构的联系,实现教育理论与实践的融合,确保学前教师的专业质量;大力培养高级幼儿教育导师,建立健全覆盖所有在职幼儿教师的专业发展培训体系.     

音乐在学前课堂教学中的作用

在学前课堂教学活动中,教师应认清幼儿的生理和心理特点,打破学科界限,充分发挥音乐的特有作用,让孩子们在愉快的氛围中快乐地学习。让＂寓教于乐＂的教学理念在学前课堂教学活动中得到充分的体现。     

Exploring On-Campus and in Real School Classroom Microteaching Practices: the Effect on the Professional Development of Preservice Teachers

International Journal of Science and Mathematics Education - The aim of this study was to determine the professional developments of science teacher candidates over 14 weeks of...