Evaluation of infant/toddler intervention programs

The need for infant enrichment programs has been highlighted in the past decades. Research evidence has accumulated that infants who were raised in families that did not provide rich language and play experiences dropped drastically in IQ by three years of age compared to those raised in developmentally more stimulating environments (Golden, Birns, Bridger, & Moss, 1971). Also, increasing numbers of single and working parents have found quality substitute care for infants to be a rare commodity. Their concerns have lent urgency to efforts to evaluate the effects of infant care programs.     

Comparisons of observed process quality in German and American infant/toddler programs

Observed process quality in infant/toddler classrooms was compared in Germany (n = 75) and the USA (n = 219). Process quality was assessed with the Infant/Toddler Environment Rating Scale(ITERS) and parent attitudes about ITERS content with the ITERS Parent Questionnaire (ITERSPQ). The ITERS had comparable reliabilities in the two countries and similar factors were found. Content validity of the ITERS is supported in both countries by similarly high ITERSPQ importance scores. ITERS classroom mean scores are similar (Germany = 3.21; USA = 3.36), but a higher US standard deviation is found. A discriminant analysis revealed differences between countries on a bipolar dimension, with US programs characterized by higher scores on custodial issues while German programs have higher scores on educational aspects. Spearman rank order correlations were completed on ITERSPQ importance scores and observed ITERS scores, showing an association only in the USA. Results are discussed in terms of the parental values and infrastructures found in the two countries.

La qualité de processus observée dans les salles de classe des Enfants/Petits Enfants a été comparée en l’Allemagne (n = 75) et aux Etats‐Unis (n = 219). La qualité de processus a été évaluée avec l’Échelle d’Évaluation de l’Environnement des Enfants/Petits Enfants (ITERS) et les attitudes des parents au sujet du contenu de l’ITERS avec le Questionnaire d’ITERS pour les Parents (ITERSPQ). L’ITERS a eu fiabilités comparables dans les deux pays et des facteurs semblables ont été trouvés. La validité du contentu de l’ITERS est soutenue dans les deux pays par des points sur l’importance d’ITERSPQ pareillement hauts. Les points moyens ITERS de la salle de classe sontsemblables, (Allemagne = 3.21 ; Etats‐Unis = 3.36), mais un écart type plus élevé pour les Etats‐Unis est trouvé. Une analyse discriminante a indiqué des différences entre les pays sur une dimension bipolaire, avec les programmes des Etats‐Unis caractérisés par de points plus hauts sur la question de la garde tandis que les programmes allemands ont de points plus hauts sur des aspects éducatifs. Des corrélations Spearman d’ordre de rang ont été accomplies sur les points d’importance ITERSPQ et on a observé des points d’ITERS montrer une association seulement pour les Etats‐Unis. Des résultats sont discutés en termes de valeurs et infrastructures parentales trouvées dans les deux pays.

La calidad de proceso observada en salas de clase de infantes/niños pequeños fue comparada en Alemania (n = 75) y los E.E.U.U. (n = 219). La calidad de proceso fue determinada con la Escala para Evaluar el Ambiente del Infante/ Niño pequeño (ITERS) y las actitudes de los padres hacia el contenido del ITERS con el Cuestionario ITERS para los Padres (ITERSPQ). El ITERS tenía confiabilidades comparables en los dos países y se encontraron factores similares. La validez del contenido del ITERS es apoyada en ambos países por los puntajes sobre la importancia del ITERSPQ que son semejantemente altos. Los puntajes medios ITERS de la sala de clase son similares, (Alemania = 3.21; E.E.U.U. = 3.36), pero se encuentra una desviación estándar más alta con los E.E.U.U. Un análisis discriminante reveló diferencias entre los países en una dimensión bipolar, con los programas de los E.E.U.U. caracterizados por puntajes más altos en el área de la custodia mientras que los programas alemanes tienen puntajes más altos en los aspectos educativos. Las correlaciones Spearman sobre el orden de rango fueron completadas en los puntajes sobre la importancia de ITERSPQ y se observaron puntajes de ITERS demostrando una asociación solamente en los E.E.U.U. Los resultados se discuten en términos de los valores parentales e infraestructuras encontradas en los dos países.     

Functional play: A tool for toddler learning

Doody, doody, dop, dop, boom, the toddler chants as she drops clothespins in a box and dumps them out again. Over and over the toddler dumps the pins and puts them back in the box only to dump them out again. Nearby, in the sand box, another toddler is aimlessly pushing a truck through the sand — back and forth, — back and forth, over and over again.Carol Seefeldt is a professor at the University of Maryland in College Park. Nita Barbour is chair of Early Childhood And Elementary Education at the University of Maryland in Baltimore County.     

Making agency matter: rethinking infant and toddler agency in educational discourse

This article engages critically with the concept of agency in infant and toddler educational discourse. It is argued that agency, when conceptualised with emphasis on individuality and the autonomous self, poses a conceptual ‘dead end’ for those who are not-yet-in-language, such as babies and toddlers. In considering agency as an aspect of becoming that is inherent in all matter, the article seeks to explore new pathways for conceptualising agency in infant and toddler education. Methodologically, the article aims to generate complex questions and, following Nigel Thrift's call, ‘wild ideas’, rather than solutions by addressing the relationship between discourse and matter to open up new spaces for thinking and doing ‘agency’ in education, for babies and toddlers and beyond.     

Effects of transitions to new child care classes on infant/toddler distress and behavior

Changes in distress and problem behaviors of 38 infants/toddlers were examined after children transitioned from familiar to new classrooms to look at effects of non-continuity of caregiver. Child's age, classroom quality, teacher sensitivity, and transitioning with a peer were examined as possible mediators. Results suggest that transitions were associated with increased distress, especially for younger children. In addition, although overall classroom quality was low, children in higher quality pre-transition classrooms showed more distress after transitioning than children in lower quality classrooms. Transitions were associated with decreased problem behaviors. Both distress and problem behaviors returned to pre-transition levels within 3 weeks. Teacher sensitivity and transitioning with a peer did not relate to distress or problem behaviors. These findings contribute evidence about immediate effects of infant/toddler transitions in child care. Future research should explore child, classroom, and teacher–child relationship variables that influence effects of continuity versus non-continuity of caregiver.     

Memories of a fledgling teacher: a beginning teacher's autobiography

By evoking the concept of memory pictures, the author recalls her early years as a teacher. Rather than calling herself a beginning teacher, she characterizes herself as a fledgling teacher to capture the insecurity associated with the first years of teaching. This experience is narrated through five memory pictures: (1) the new school's many rooms; (2) the staff‐room as an arena for curriculum interpretation; (3) the reading road; (4) solving mathematical problems in the classroom; and (5) the assembly hall. These five memory pictures are related to theories of learning, teacher education, visions for child‐centred education and the author's current practice as a teacher educator.     

Asking for Help: A Relational Perspective on Help Seeking in the Workplace

In the context of the complexity of today’s organizations, help seeking behavior is considered as an important step to problem solving and learning in organizations. Yet, help seeking has received less attention in organizational literature. To increase the potential impact of help seeking on learning, it is essential to understand which mechanisms affect help seeking. The present study questioned whether the characteristics of the relationships that employees have in the workplace are related to help seeking behavior. This study draws on a social network perspective to investigate the employees’ relationships within their professional network. In particular, the role of accessibility, awareness of expertise, trust, and hierarchy in help seeking was explored. Results indicated that the perceptions of the help provider’s expertise, accessibility and trust were positively associated with the likelihood to seek help, frequency by which help is sought, and perceived quality of the help. Moreover, employees seem more likely to seek help upward from higher status individuals and less likely downward from lower status individuals. Employees perceived the help of higher status individuals as more useful and constructive. These results highlight the importance of investing in the strength of relationships, ensuring the accessibility of expertise and fostering a work environment, in which employees trust and respect each other. Furthermore, the results suggest valuable and promising avenues for future research and practice.     

Uncovering a hidden professional agenda for teacher educators: A mixed method study on Flemish teacher educators and their professional development

Taking into account the pressing need to understand more about what teacher educators’ professional development characterises, this article adopts a mixed method approach to explore Flemish (Dutch-speaking part of Belgium) teacher educators’ professional development needs and opportunities. Analysis results of a large-scale survey study with 611 teacher educators and analysis of five qualitative focus groups (with 24 teacher educators) are presented. The results confirm the lack of attention for teacher educators’ professional development in the Flemish teacher education system. Moreover, the findings indicate a structural need for participation in professional development activities that are linked to teacher educators’ own practices, organised as long-term sustainable professional development trajectories, and formally recognised. To conclude, a professional development agenda for research, policy and practices related to teacher educators’ professional development is discussed.     

Values in education: a challenge for teacher educators

The (growing) political, social and scientific attention to the moral aspects of teaching also concerns teacher education.This article reports an exploratory study into the preparation of student teachers for moral education. The designing of goals, program parts and teaching and learning methods for a part of the first year curriculum of a teacher education institute for primary education is described. Next the teacher educators who carried out the curriculum and the student teachers who participated in it, were asked whether they recognized the moral aspects of the curriculum as designed. Finally, we tested the effects of the curriculum on the learning of the student teachers, using a pre- and post- test. The results of the study evoke, among others, the conclusion that more attention is needed to the implicit and unplanned aspects of preparing students teachers for moral education.     

All-day recordings to investigate vocabulary development: A case study of a trilingual toddler

Major innovations are becoming available for research in language development and disorders. Among these innovations, recent tools allow naturalistic recording in children's homes and automated analysis to facilitate representative sampling. The present study employed all-day recordings during the second year of life in a child exposed to three languages, using a fully-wearable battery-powered recorder, with automated analysis to locate appropriate time periods for coding. This method made representative sampling possible, and afforded the opportunity for a case study indicating that language spoken directly to the child had dramatically more effect on vocabulary learning than audible language not spoken to the child, as indicated by chi-square analyses of the child's verbal output and input in each of the languages. The work provides perspective on the role of learning words by overhearing in childhood, and suggests the value of representative naturalistic sampling as a means of research on vocabulary acquisition.     

Providing a flexible, learner-centred programme: Challenges for educators

This paper presents a case study of the implementation of a flexible learner-centred programme of study which blends face-to-face and online learning. The programme was developed to be flexible in terms of content and study strategies, whilst remaining within more rigid organisational structures and processes. This paper outlines the programme and presents the model developed for flexible content delivery. The programme has been delivered simultaneously by five tutors to six groups of learners. Tutors drew on varying personal experiences of flexible and online learning and this paper also presents the results of an investigation to explore their experiences of facilitation. The findings provide a unique insight into the implications of such a programme for educators. Data were gathered using methods to promote and structure reflections on practice. Issues of relevance for others considering the development of flexible learner-centred programmes of study are presented.     

The hypothetical: a new training resource for adult educators

The “hypothetical”, a panel game developed and popularised by Geoffrey Robertson on Granada Television in the U.K. and on Channel 9 (initially) and ABC Television (finally) in Australia, has proved to be readily adaptable into a technique for the training of adult educators.

In the television version, participants play themselves in an imaginary scenario invoked by a compere whose role is to provoke them into making decisions about key social dilemmas of contemporary public concern, such as drug trafficking, marriage breakdown, AIDS, police corruption.

In the training adaptation described here, the dilemmas are constructed around issues of concern in daily professional practice. The primary goal changes to the professional development of participants and (if present) of an audience who are also professionals, rather than the goal of mass entertainment or general audience edification as in the television version.

This paper describes the adaptation of this popular 1980's television production into a training tool of considerable power, and gives an account of how it has been developed and used in one institution. It argues that, whereas the hypothetical is clearly a close relative of a number of familiar experiential training techniques, it makes its own unique contribution to the catalogue of training strategies available.     

Mentoring for inclusion: A model class for special and general educators

Abstract

The following paper presents content and outcomes of a model class for instructing general and special educators in best practices of inclusive education. Key components of the class were (a) an emphasis on cooperative learning and team decision making, (b) highly structured problem‐solving activities, and (c) the use of in vivo case studies involving children with disabilities in local schools. These components were designed to model professional activities associated with the successful inclusion of children with disabilities in general education classrooms. Course content is supported by brief reviews of related research. Course outcomes, problems encountered, and recommendations for replication are presented.     

Faculty development for preservice teacher educators: A research utilization perspective

Weak research utilization strategies limit the faculty development of university-based preservice teacher educators. Compared to school district-based inservice teacher educators, preservice teacher educators have weaker knowledge acquisition strategies, and are less likely to have sustained contact with researchers, especially where a training focus is prominent. Preservice teacher educators have less developed networks that facilitate research utilization, and have less institutional support for internal staff development. A research utilization theoretical framework is used to propose recommendations for helping preservice teacher educators.