The perceived needs of support of parents and classroom teachers a comparison of needs in two microsystems

The aim of this study was to describe and compare from a systems perspective the perceived needs of parents and teachers of school-age children with intellectual impairments. The relationship between type and degree of impairment to perceived needs was analysed. Comparisons revealed that while the parents and teachers differed regarding their respective needs, they agreed on specific informational needs. It was found that certain child characteristics in interaction with contextual factors evoked specific needs within microsystem settings. Motor impairments tended to correlate with needs regarding family routines, and impairments in communication and behaviour tended to correlate with family informational needs. Teachers expressed significantly more and stronger needs than parents, and teachers who instructed according to a reading based curriculum expressed more and stronger needs than teachers who instructed according to a life-skills based curriculum. These findings are discussed, together with their implications for future research and changes in teacher education.     

The sustainability of a teacher professional development programme for beginning urban teachers

This study investigated the long-term effects of a professional development intervention for beginning urban teachers and explored which characteristics and activities in school organisations contributed to the sustainability of these effects. A quasi-experimental study (n = 72) investigated whether the positive effects of the programme were observed one year after the programme ended. Interviews with teachers and principals (n = 19) were used to explore which characteristics and activities in schools contributed to those positive effects. A significant long-term effect of the programme was found on teachers’ competences and professional orientation. An open culture in the schools was experienced as an important factor for the sustainability of the programme’s effects.     

“学习故事”对幼儿园初任教师专业发展的启示

近年来,幼儿园初任教师的专业发展水平越来越受到社会各界的广泛关注。如何帮助初任教师顺利度过专业发展的"关键期"、"艰难期",就显得尤为重要。"学习故事"不仅是一套科学的儿童学习评价体系,也是一个可以促进初任教师专业发展的新方法。     

The impact of Child Development Associate training on the beliefs and practices of preschool teachers

This study examined the impact of Child Development Associate (CDA) training on the beliefs and practices of early childhood teachers who did not have college degrees or early childhood college coursework. Preschool teachers who were enrolled in CDA classes (n = 76) and a comparison group of teachers (n = 50) completed two surveys of beliefs and practices. Repeated measures Multivariate Analyses of Variance indicated that the CDA training teachers decreased the amount they endorsed beliefs and practices that contrast with Developmentally Appropriate Practice over time more than the comparison teachers. Results suggest that CDA training can be an effective means of increasing the developmentally appropriateness of beliefs and self-reported practices of early childhood teachers, which past research suggests will ultimately impact classroom quality.     

幼儿教师与祖辈家长沟通“难”现象探究

随着祖辈家长出镜率的日益提高,如何做好与祖辈家长的沟通工作是幼儿教师需要面对和思考的问题。目前,在幼儿教师群体中存在着"与祖辈家长沟通难"的现象。研究者通过对N市四所省级示范园的10位"工作年限十年以上、家长工作经验丰富、口语表达能力强"的一线教师进行个别访谈,在进一步验证这一现象存在与否的基础上,总结出了"幼儿教师与祖辈家长沟通难"现象的几种表现形式与应对策略。     

Easing separation anxiety: Recommendations for parents, families, and teachers

Many children entering school for the first time are anxious and fearful. In the beginning, separation from the parent is difficult for all young children but for some, it is a chronic problem that can disrupt the child's learning alliance with the teacher. Finding strategies to deal with these very difficult separation problems helps parent, teacher, and child.     

Kindergarten teachers' literacy beliefs and self-reported practices: On the heels of a new national literacy curriculum

This study took place six years after the introduction of a national early literacy curriculum in Israel. We compared the beliefs of kindergarten teachers on the importance of literacy goals with their perception of parents' and the educational system's beliefs. We examined teachers' self-reported practices and how these practices changed with the curriculum adoption. Teachers (N = 120) responded to a closed questionnaire, and 12 of them were interviewed. Incongruence emerged between teachers' own beliefs and the beliefs they attributed to others. This incongruence facilitates understanding of the rationales for their practices and their relationships with parents and professional partners.     

Case studies of gifted kindergarten children part II: The parents and teachers

Early life experiences can powerfully impact attitudes toward learning and later achievements in education. The chances for optimal development of children with special needs, including the gifted and talented, can be enhanced with identification and intervention at an early age. This paper reports on investigations into the lives of five gifted kindergarten students utilizing a case‐study methodology, which yielded themes relating to intellectual, achievement, social, affective, physical, aesthetic, and creative domains (discussed in Part I, published in Roeper Review, volume 26, pp. 192‐207). This paper, Part II, will discuss parental and teacher influences.     

The retention question in context-specific teacher education: Do beginning teachers and their program leaders see teachers' future career eye to eye

This paper discusses the challenge of retaining teachers in hard-to-staff schools by examining how it is addressed in three context specific teacher education programs, which prepare teachers to teach in urban public, urban Catholic, and Jewish Day Schools in U.S.A. The findings of this study suggest that counter to teaching force trends teachers from the three programs that we studied expressed high motivation to serve as teachers or leaders in their particular schools and communities. In particular, we found that teachers' career commitments developed around the religious or civic missions promoted by their respective programs. Finally, teachers' career perceptions seem to correlate, though not entirely match, with those of their program leaders.     

Conceptualising institutional support for early,mid, and later career teachers

In this paper we argue that institutions need to support early career teachers to learn to teach in much the same way that students who are new to higher education are supported: through integrated and intentionally designed transition strategies. We take a published student transition typology and adapt it to identify ways of supporting early career teachers. We argue that strategies within each conception of our adapted typology are necessary to support a diverse cohort of higher education teachers, not only those who begin teaching each year, but those who are in their mid and later careers.     

Preschool selection considerations and experiences of school mistreatment among lesbian,gay, and heterosexual adoptive parents

The current study is the first to investigate the school selection considerations and school-related experiences of sexual-minority parents with young children. The sample consisted of 210 parents in 105 couples, including 35 lesbian couples, 30 gay male couples, and 40 heterosexual couples, all of whom had adopted a child three years earlier. We found that parents with less income were more likely to consider cost in choosing a preschool, and parents with less education were more likely to consider location. More educated parents tended to emphasize racial diversity and the presence of adoptive families, and, among sexual-minority parents, the presence of other lesbian/gay parents. Sexual-minority parents were more likely to consider racial diversity than heterosexual parents. In reporting on their experiences with schools, heterosexual parents were more likely to perceive mistreatment due to their adoptive status than sexual-minority parents, and sexual-minority parents living in less gay-friendly communities were more likely to perceive mistreatment due to their sexual orientation than sexual-minority parents living in more gay-friendly communities. Our findings have implications for early childhood educators and administrators seeking to create an inclusive learning community for all types of families.     

Professional identity creation: Examining the development of beginning preservice teachers' understanding of their work as teachers

The importance of reflection in supporting the continued professional learning of preservice practitioners is well recognised. This study examines one aspect of the outcomes of preservice teachers' reflection: the development of their own self-image as a teacher. In making the transition from student to teacher, preservice teachers create their own professional identity. Their ability to articulate this identity is examined through a new construct, a “teachers' voice”. A teachers' voice, develops when preservice teachers interpret and reinterpret their experiences through the processes of reflection. A teachers' voice is articulated as part of the persons' self-image. The construct, a teachers' voice, was investigated by examining changes in preservice teachers' contributions in an online discussion forum. Two complementary approaches of content analysis were applied. Both methods revealed changes in preservice teachers' levels of engagement and showed that in the first semester of preservice teacher education, the majority of preservice teachers moved towards a more professional stance in their contributions.     

美国教师专业发展的几种模式及启示

随着教师专业化的发展,美国对教师专业发展采用不同层次的发展模式,主要有教师专业发展学校;学习型组织与团队学习;教师个人专业发展计划与自我教学实践反思等。将教师的职前培养,初任教师的过渡,在职教师的继续教育一体化,促进教师的专业成长。其成功的经验可以为我国教师专业发展提供借鉴。     

Electronic portfolios: Perspectives of students, teachers and parents

This study explores the perspectives of students, teachers and parents to evaluate the use of digital portfolios as an additional way to capture and enhance the learning of elementary students in a public school setting and as an opportunity to communicate this learning to parents. The research questions address four problems: complex assessment of learning, parental participation, and student and teacher satisfaction and the impact of the portfolio on teaching methods. Particularly, we are interested in the subjective satisfaction of students, teachers and parents in the portfolio development process. We are also interested in whether students learn to reflect constructively on their work, whether teachers have changed their teaching methods and whether parents believe the portfolio was used or could be used for enhanced communications.     

Effective mentoring for the next generation of early childhood teachers in Victoria,Australia

From reading the research literature, it is evident that making the transition from pre-service teacher to beginning teacher is a challenging experience. New to the profession teachers can experience self-doubt and feelings of anxiety about meeting expectations. What is valued at the start of their career is support, especially if it is ongoing and tailored to their needs. In this paper, I present data from the first mentoring programme for new to the profession early childhood teachers in Victoria, Australia – the State-wide Mentoring Program for Early Childhood Teachers (SWMP) (2011–2014). I provide an overview of this mentoring programme highlighting aspects considered most effective in supporting beginning early childhood teachers. I propose that developing a mentoring programme incorporating respectful, responsive, reciprocal and reflective elements, can enhance both mentor’s and mentee’s professional development and professional identity. The impact of this programme is evidenced by the voices of the mentors and mentees involved.     

Mentoring of new teachers as a contested practice: Supervision,support and collaborative self-development

This article examines contested practices of mentoring of newly qualified teachers within and between Australia (New South Wales), Finland and Sweden. Drawing on empirical evidence from a variety of studies, we demonstrate three archetypes of mentoring: supervision, support and collaborative self-development. Using the theory of practice architectures, we show that (1) these three forms of mentoring represent three different projects: (a) assisting new teachers to pass through probation, (b) traditional mentoring as support, and (c) peer-group mentoring; and (2) these different projects involve and imply quite different practice architectures in the form of different material-economic, social-political and cultural-discursive arrangements.     

Service-learning informing the development of an inclusive ethical framework for beginning teachers

A social-cultural theory of difference informed the development of a university unit on inclusive education with a focus on broadening students’ experience and understanding about the backgrounds and values of people in society. One of the aims of the unit was to “develop and work within legal and ethical frameworks that promote diversity, equity and inclusive education”. This paper will report on pre-service teacher reflections in Service-learning Program Logs associated with a university unit on inclusive education in Queensland, Australia. Service-learning requires students to become involved in their community in order to utilise knowledge learned at university. The programme involves reciprocal relationships with organisations in which the service reinforces and strengthens the learning in the academic unit on inclusive education, and the learning reinforces and strengthens the service. Analysis of data presented in this paper informed the development of set of principles of an inclusive ethical framework. We suggest that these principles could be further developed in teacher education programmes to progress inclusive practices in schools.     

From attrition to retention: a narrative inquiry of why beginning teachers leave and then rejoin the profession

The issue of beginning teachers leaving the profession in the first few years of their career represents a global problem, and while discrepancies exist over precise numbers, there is consensus that the attrition rate of new teachers is high. This paper reports on a narrative inquiry into two beginning teachers who left the profession after just 1 year of practice, only to return 2 years later. By examining this continuum from attrition to retention through the lens of the two teachers’ narrative accounts it is possible to gain some insights into how new teachers’ personal and professional landscapes intertwine. Findings reveal that these beginning teachers’ experiences of their school contexts combined with their personal stories in the first year of practice shaped their professional identity culminating in them leaving and then rejoining the teaching fold. Insights gleaned may have significant implications for beginning teachers, school leaders, teacher education institutions, and policy makers.     

A qualitative study of the current transformation to rural village early childhood in China: Retrospect and prospect

By far, literature regarding Chinese early childhood education and care (ECEC) has primarily focused on Youeryuan in urban settings. Youeryuan is the everyday Chinese term used for ECEC programs serving children ages three to six, which does include the U.S. version of the kindergarten year. This paper will refer to Youeryuan rather than the Western definitions of preschool or kindergarten so as to maintain authenticity. Furthermore, this paper will focus on the history and development of rural Youeryuan based on a qualitative study of the government-owned, privately operated Youeryuan that represent the current reform initiatives in early childhood in China. Through teacher and administrator interviews, onsite observations using ECERS-R, and school documents, the lead author immersed herself in rural Youeryuan as part of a larger ethnographic study in China in the midst of economic and educational transformations. The findings of this study revealed themes related to increased government investment, improved school policies, the lack of instructional materials, curriculum and instruction issues, local government support for professional development, administrative support for instruction, and the need for mentoring for teachers.     

首届成人教育学科推进与导师职业能力建设高级研讨会综述

2008年1月,首届成人教育学科推进与导师职业能力建设高级研讨会在武汉召开,与会人员达七十余人,大会总结了我国成人教育学科建设及研究生培养工作的经验、成就,剖析了目前所存在的困难与问题以及对未来改革发展方向的展望。此次会议取得了良好的效果,必将推动成人教育学科建设和研究生培养工作迈向新的发展台阶。