Early Childhood Teacher Education: A Global Perspective

A couple of years ago I attended a presentation at a professional meeting that made a major impact upon my life. The session, “Ways of Achieving Excellence in a Global Community,” included presentations by early childhood educators from Australia, Hungary and Finland. At the conclusion of this sharing of ideas regarding what other countries are doing to improve the lives of children, I overheard an American colleague whisper to her neighbor in amazement, “My God! We're a Third World country when it comes to child care.” Without contrasts brought out by this session, however, this educator might have never been open to the world of ideas for improving children's lives.     

Early Childhood Technology Education: A Sociocultural Perspective

We are living in a fast-changing, technology-driven world, where technology affects the daily lives of every person, directly or indirectly. While the importance of providing young children with technological knowledge and experience has been well-recognized, how the curriculum should be developed deserves greater study. Using early childhood education in Hong Kong as a case study, this paper argues that to be successful in planning and implementing a technology curriculum, we cannot consider only the technological aspects. We also need to take into consideration the social and cultural factors. Among various social and cultural factors, this paper focuses on: (a) the background of the students and their parents, (b) society’s perceptions of technology, and (c) society’s expectations of children who learn about technology, and (d) the approach and method of teaching and learning technology.     

Blended Perspectives: A Global Vision for High-Quality Early Childhood Education

What are the attributes of a high-quality early childhood education program worldwide? An group of experienced early childhood educators that represent diverse international backgrounds attempts to respond to this question by examining six dimensions of quality set forth by the Association for Childhood Education International: (1) philosophies and goals, (2) high-quality physical environments, (3) developmentally appropriate and effective pedagogy and curriculum, (4) attention to basic and special needs, (5) respect for families and communities, (6) professionally prepared teachers and staff, and (7) rigorous program evaluation. The article concludes with an annotated list of references, both in professional publications and online, that examine early childhood education from an international perspective.     

早期教育视野中的游戏

因为游戏具有促进幼儿发展的功能,所以游戏便被纳入教育的视野。但游戏一旦成为教育者手中的工具,试图运用它去实现某种教育功能时,立刻就被赋予了功利目的。当游戏必须符合教育的目的性时,游戏者的自由意志将被大大削弱。对游戏与教学关系的认识和实践,既受制于文化传统的影响,也受制于对游戏本质的理解。在中国文化背景下,幼儿园要以游戏为基本活动,既要寓教于乐,更要寓学于乐。     

Quality in Early Childhood Education: An Anthropologist's Perspective

I use examples from my ethnographic work on early childhood education and care settings in Japan and France to demonstrate that quality standards are cultural constructs and to question the universality of such core U.S. standards of quality in ECEC as low student-teacher ratios and multicultural curricula. My argument is that quality standards should reflect local values and concerns and not be imposed across cultural divides. In a heterogeneous society such as the U.S., notions of quality should arise out of conversations in local communities among early childhood educators and parents.     

全民教育视野中的全球幼儿教育——全民教育全球监测报告(2007年)对全球幼儿教育的关注

联合国教科文组织发布的以“增强基础:幼儿保育和教育”为题的2007年全民教育全球监测报告对全球幼儿教育作了分析。该报告根据各国提供的信息,阐述了幼儿保育和教育的重要意义,分析了全球幼儿保育和教育发展的现状、各国幼儿保育和教育计划的发展走势,提出了实现全球幼儿教育目标的建议。     

Quality in Early Childhood Education: An Anthropologist's Perspective

I use examples from my ethnographic work on early childhood education and care settings in Japan and France to demonstrate that quality standards are cultural constructs and to question the universality of such core U.S. standards of quality in ECEC as low student-teacher ratios and multicultural curricula. My argument is that quality standards should reflect local values and concerns and not be imposed across cultural divides. In a heterogeneous society such as the U.S., notions of quality should arise out of conversations in local communities among early childhood educators and parents.     

早期教育视野中的游戏

因为游戏具有促进幼儿发展的功能,所以游戏便被纳入教育的视野.但游戏一旦成为教育者手中的工具,试图运用它去实现某种教育功能时,立刻就被赋予了功利目的.当游戏必须符合教育的目的性时,游戏者的自由意志将被大大削弱.对游戏与教学关系的认识和实践,既受制于文化传统的影响,也受制于对游戏本质的理解.在中国文化背景下,幼儿园要"以游戏为基本活动",既要"寓教于乐",更要"寓学于乐".     

A Nordic Perspective on Early Childhood Education and Care Policy

The national policies and historical roots of early childhood education (ECE) vary from society to society. In the Nordic countries, early childhood education and care (ECEC) policies have been built in the context of the welfare state. As such, they are closely connected to other welfare policy areas such as social policy, family policy and education policy, in addition to which a close relationship with labour policy is also evident. This article sheds light on the historical roots of Nordic ECEC policies by describing the commonalities and differences between the Nordic countries. The ‘Nordic model’ is commonly described as integrated. Education, teaching and caring form an integrated unit and the term early childhood education and care is therefore typically used when describing the ‘Nordic model’. It is also said to be based on a child-centred, holistic approach with an emphasis on participation, democracy, autonomy and freedom, while its track record of high quality ECE services is considered to be due in part to the use of a well-trained workforce. The Nordic countries are, however, developing and redefining their ECEC policies in the global economic and cultural context, in which governments have to choose their priorities. Pressure to standardize ECE services is also apparent, and signs of erosion of the key elements of the Nordic model have been seen in recent policy debates. This paper discusses the current direction of Nordic ECE policy making and the future of the Nordic model.     

儿童福利:学前教育事业发展研究的新视角

儿童福利从儿童的权利和需要出发,以儿童的幸福为宗旨,关注儿童发展问题,学前教育由此是儿童福利的重要组成部分.相比其他学制阶段,学前教育除了具有教育性外,还具有显著的福利性.它能为幼儿提供必要的照顾与保护,从而解放母亲,有助于增加社会劳动力,同时能帮助家庭解决子女养育中的问题,缓解家庭育儿压力与亲子关系冲突,是保证家庭幸福、社会和谐的重要途径与手段.从儿童福利视角看待学前教育,有助于敦促政府从提供社会公共服务的角度出发承担发展学前教育的责任;有助于促使政府为学前教育具有的社会服务功能买单,加大对学前教育的财政投入;有助于政府改变以往经费投入体制与方式,更多关注弱势家庭子女平等接受学前教育的机会;有助于政府协调各个职能部门,建立专门负责儿童福利事务的部门,与教育部门统筹管理,保证有关学前教育政策执行到位,落到实处.     

Reconceptualizing Early Childhood Education: A Commentary

The Family Adaptability and Cohesion Evaluation Scales—III has been frequently used to measure the family environment. Although some data exist attesting to the reliability and validity of FACES-III data, the underlying factor structure of the instrument has not been assessed using a confirmatory methodology. The present research used data from a sample of 922 families with children having disabilities to conduct a confirmatory factor analysis. Results suggest that the structure of the instrument proposed by the author did not provide an acceptable fit to the data. Post-hoc model fitting identified 3-Factor solutions for the Actual and Ideal Scales as superior based on fit statistics and replication. The Cohesion Scale as originally proposed by the authors of the instrument remained intact. The original Adaptability Scale was divided into two scales, Adaptability, which focused on change in leadership and rules within the family, and Discipline and Control which targeted the role of children in the family system. The present results are consistent with challenges to the adaptability scale, and supports other exploratory analyses of the instrument.     

Applying Technology to Inquiry-Based Learning in Early Childhood Education

Children naturally explore and learn about their environments through inquiry, and computer technologies offer an accessible vehicle for extending the domain and range of this inquiry. Over the past decade, a growing number of interactive games and educational software packages have been implemented in early childhood education and addressed a variety of subjects, including mathematics, science, reading, language, and social studies. However, most software packages have yet to integrate technology into inquiry-based learning for early childhood contexts. Based on existing theoretical frameworks, we suggest that instructional technologies should be used in early childhood inquiry education to (a) enrich and provide structure for problem contexts, (b) facilitate resource utilization, and (c) support cognitive and metacognitive processes. Examples of existing and hypothetical early childhood applications are provided as we elaborate on each role. Challenges and future research directions are also identified and discussed.     

多元文化视野下的幼儿音乐教育

未来频繁的跨文化交流,需要我们拥有一种理解、宽容“陌生”音乐文化的态度。本文从多元文化视野提出了幼儿多元文化音乐教育的价值和目标,同时根据幼儿的年龄特征提出了创设环境、组织专题活动、开发和利用资源等实施途径。     

解析瑞吉欧幼儿教育的学习机制

瑞吉欧幼儿教育体现一种独特的儿童观和教育观,为世界关注幼儿教育的个人和组织所注意。瑞吉欧幼儿教育具有包括活动学习有效性,幼儿园、家庭、社区交互协作性,系统的自组织性等核心学习机制。瑞吉欧幼儿教育的背景文化、教学方法、环境等要素揭示其活动学习有效性的效应机理,团体中心、社区管理模式反映了瑞吉欧幼儿教育学习环境的作用机制,系统的自组织则呈现出瑞吉欧幼儿教育学习系统的自组织机制并彰显生态课堂的特征。     

Shifting to Remote Learning During COVID-19: Differences for Early Childhood and Early Childhood Special Education Teachers

This study explored similarities and differences in how early childhood education (ECE) teachers (n?=?947) and early childhood special education (ECSE) teachers (n?=?160) provided remote learning to young children and their families following COVID-19 shelter in place orders in the spring of 2020. The most utilized remote learning activities for both ECE and ECSE teachers were the provision of activities for families to use at home, communication with families, online lessons, and singing songs and reading books. Both types of professionals spent more time planning and communicating with families than providing instruction to children. Results of chi-square tests of independence revealed differences in activities provided, how time was spent, and training received by professional role. Open-ended responses revealed particular challenges for ECE and ECSE teachers. Findings are discussed in the context of how the early childhood field adapted quickly to remote learning during COVID-19 and the implications for ongoing technology support for early childhood personnel based on their professional role.

     

Assessing Learning Behaviors in Early Childhood Special Education Classrooms

Research Findings: This study reports on the dimensionality and validation of the Preschool Learning Behaviors Scale (PLBS) for use in a sample of preschool children in early childhood special education classrooms. The PLBS is a teacher-report instrument that characterizes children’s approaches to learning. The sample included 600 preschool-age students in 97 classrooms. Exploratory and confirmatory analyses uncovered 2 reliable and valid dimensions: Competence Motivation and Learning Strategy. Scale scores were produced using item response theory and Bayesian scoring methods. Competence Motivation and Learning Strategy scores were moderately related to children’s performance on language and literacy measures. Practice or Policy: The potential use of this tool in early childhood special education classrooms is explored.