A model for portfolio assessment in early childhood education programs

It is necessary for teachers to consider alternative means of evaluating their students. One method proving to be effective for gathering and organizing student productivity, growth, and development is the portfolio approach. This article describes the Early Childhood Portfolio Assessment Preparation (ECPAP) Model that was used to facilitate the use of student portfolios in two different early childhood education programs. The goals of the model, the six steps followed and the participants' responses to this project are discussed. This article may serve early childhood directors and supervisors who are preparing teachers to implement student portfolios as a supplement or an alternative to the existing assessment and evaluation programs. Also early childhood teacher education students can benefit from the design and implementation of ECPAP.     

Assessment practices in model early childhood special education programs

Examination of assessment practices in 54 model programs for early education of handicapped children revealed extreme variability. Only 19 tests were used by at least five programs; only one device was used by over half of the responding programs. Most tests were listed as being used for more than one purpose, but some tests appeared to be used more exclusively than others for a particular purpose. Although the technical adequacy, in terms of norms, validit, and reliability, was reportedly an important factor influencing selection and continued use of tests, analysis of the 19 most commonly used devices revealed that only three were technically adequate. Other methods of assessment also were examined. Implications for model practice are discussed.     

Toward an effective model for implementing distance education programs

Abstract

As a response to the challenges and constraints now facing postsecondary education, institutions are attempting to find new strategies that will more effectively address the need for change in the way educational services are provided. In early September 1995, three institutions in Alberta, Canada—the University of Alberta, Fairview College, and Kayas Cultural College—embarked on a new partnership in offering a selected number of introductory Faculty of Arts courses in remote northwestern regions of the province. The primary mode of delivery was synchronized, multi‐point videoconferencing (to as many as six sites), with all courses delivered from the University of Alberta campus. Slightly more than 70% of the student cohort for the first academic year were Aboriginal. This discussion highlights the implementation and evaluation of this partnership and proposes a model for the effective planning and implementation of distance education initiatives.     

Social-emotional effects of early childhood education programs in Tulsa

This article assesses the effects of Tulsa, Oklahoma's early childhood education programs on social-emotional outcomes, examining teacher ratings of children's behavior from the Adjustment Scales for Preschool Intervention and a measure of attentiveness using fixed effects regressions with propensity score matching. The sample includes 2,832 kindergarten students in 2006, of whom 1,318 participated in the Tulsa Public Schools (TPS) pre-K program and 363 participated in the CAP of Tulsa County Head Start program the previous year. Program participation was associated with lower timidity and higher attentiveness for TPS pre-K alumni and a marginally significant reduction in timidity for Head Start alumni. Results were similar for the free lunch-eligible subsample. We conclude that high-quality, school-based preschool programs can enhance social-emotional development.     

Personal epistemology and relational pedagogy in early childhood teacher education programs

Over the last decade, research related to personal epistemological beliefs has offered insight into how to promote effective teaching and learning across educational settings. Personal epistemological beliefs reflect an individual's views about what knowledge is, how knowledge is gained, and the degree of certainty with which knowledge can be held. However, there has been no research that specifically investigates the relationship between such epistemological beliefs and early childhood practice. This paper draws together current research findings on epistemological beliefs and tertiary learning to provide a conceptual framework which can be used in early childhood teacher education programs to provide a basis for investigating early childhood teachers' understanding about their own learning and how they use this knowledge in their practice.     

An alternative model of special education teacher education socialization

The process of organizational socialization sheds light on the difficulty of a university program to effectively socialize its special education teacher candidates into believing and acting on theories of inclusion for students with disabilities in public schools. In general, people are socialized by prior experiences, then the university, then the workplace. In this case, the workplace socialization exists prior to participation in the university setting and in conjunction with it potentially complicating traditional university socialization. This study explores how prospective special education teachers in a moderate/severe special education teacher credential program adopt, adapt, and redefine the concept of inclusion. An analysis of their use of the term “inclusion” in semi-structured interviews draws attention to the degree to which they have or have not been socialized into believing and acting on inclusion at their schools.     

An assessment model and methods for evaluating distance education programmes

This paper is adapted from a keynote address given to the AUA Annual Conference, held at Warwick 14–16 March 2005     

An interdisciplinary training model for early childhood handicapped teachers

Abstract

Clinical supervision is a formative evaluation method of working with teachers for the purpose of improving instruction. This teacher‐centered, collegial, and collaborative model requires the establishment of rapport and trust and a proper climate. Personal observation and a review of current related literature emphasize that clinical supervision enables teachers and supervisors to grow while promoting excellence in teaching and learning. In this period of school reform, clinical supervision is a successful means of approaching teacher learning, professional growth, and instructional improvement.     

Practicum pairs: an alternative for first field experience in early childhood teacher education

This paper focuses on partnership between pairs of students in early childhood education during a teaching practicum in preschools and kindergartens. One hundred students enrolled in early childhood pre‐service teacher education programs at a large metropolitan Australian university were paired and placed in kindergartens and preschools with host teachers. The project aimed to explore the perceptions and experiences of host teachers and students involved in the paired practicum which was evaluated qualitatively using semi‐structured surveys of host teachers and students. This paper identifies eight practices and two principles making this paired practicum successful or not successful.     

Screening for hearing loss in early childhood programs

This study assessed the feasibility of doing hearing screening in Migrant, American Indian and Early Head Start programs using otoacoustic emissions (OAE) technology. Staff members were trained to screen 0–3-year-old children for hearing loss using hand-held OAE equipment and a multi-step screening and referral protocol. Of the 3486 children screened as a part of the study, 77% passed an OAE screening at the first step, 18% more passed an OAE screening at the second step, and 5% were ultimately referred for medical or audiological follow-up. Eighty children were identified as having a hearing loss or disorder of the outer, middle or inner ear requiring treatment. Of these 80, six had permanent bilateral or unilateral hearing loss. Although the protocol suggested that the multi-step screening procedure should be completed within a 4-week time period or less, analysis of the data showed that for children requiring more than an initial OAE screening, the length of time over which the screening was completed ranged from 7 to 12 weeks. The median time required to complete a single OAE screening session was 4 minutes per child. The results demonstrate that OAE screening of young children using this protocol is practical and effective. The implications for conducting periodic hearing screening throughout early childhood are discussed.     

Resolving paradoxical criteria for the expansion and replication of early childhood care and education programs

Conceptual bases of intervention and policy are often subject to paradoxical dilemmas, such as the need for a coherent program model versus recognition of the diversity of a target population. This article aims to identify underlying paradoxical bases for expansion and replication of early childhood care and education programs, and to suggest potential resolutions of these paradoxes. Clarification of such paradoxes may provide guidance for the many decision points which arise in processes of identifying, expanding, and replicating early childhood programs based on evidence of quality or success. First, a brief history of early childhood care and education in the U.S. from the viewpoint of expansion and replication is presented. A five-fold typology of expansion and replication processes is proposed: staged replication, franchised replication, multi-site demonstrations, mandated replication, and government-supported private sector expansion. Second, paradoxes associated with the process of replication are considered, such as: (1) the “can it work” versus “does it work” paradox; (2) the fidelity versus local cultural relevance paradox; (3) the replication versus addition paradox; (4) the replication versus program improvement paradox; and (5) the representativeness versus feasibility paradox. In a concluding section, recommendations for funders, policy makers, and evaluators are made regarding next steps in expansion and replication of early childhood care and education programs.     

Knowledge engineering: An alternative approach to curriculum design for science education at a distance

Most of the curriculum design models within the technical-scientific approach utilise the rational and sequential process of designing and inter-relating the various elements of the design process. While this procedure may be efficient and adequate for conventional education in which the designers are professional science educators, there is doubt if it satisfies the particular needs of distance education. The experience accumulated through a multi-disciplinary team approach to distance learning courseware development for higher education at the University of Southern Queensland Distance Education Centre motivated this study which primarily focused on a search for an alternative approach to curriculum development with a more satisfactory functional value. Using selected units in Engineering as a focus, an experiment was designed in which a variant of the classical Wheeler model was used. This paper reports the results of this experiment. The implications for contemporary curriculum development initiatives in science especially within distance education settings are pointed out. Specializations: science education, learning strategies, curriculum development, instructional design, research and development in distance education. Specializations: Cognitive Science, curriculum development, instructional design, expert systems, research and development in distance education. Specializations: science education, learning strategies, curriculum development, instructional design, research and development in distance education.     

Safety concepts and early childhood education: An integrated curriculum

In the United States injuries are the leading cause of death and disability in all children after the first year of life. The National Safety Council has indicated that children from birth to four years of age are at greater risk than any other age for injuries and deaths due to poisoning and ingestions, burns, and drownings.E. Audrey Clark is Professor and Chairperson, Department of Home Economics, California State University, Northridge, CA. Robert A. Simmons is Program Director, Just Say No International. Dr. Simmons was working with the American Lung Association of Los Angeles County at the time this curriculum was developed.     

Welfare families' use of early childhood care and education programs, and implications for their children's development

With recent legislation placing a strong emphasis on the transition of welfare mothers into the workforce, it becomes increasingly important to understand whether and how participation in early childhood care and education programs has implications for the development of children from welfare families. This study focused on a sample of 182 African-American families, all of whom had applied for or were receiving Aid to Families With Dependent Children, and each with a child of between 3 and 5 years of age. We first examined which of a wide range of background characteristics predicted participation in early childhood care and education programs. We then examined whether measures of the children's school readiness and social maturity were predicted by current participation in an early childhood program, above and beyond the background characteristics associated with the use of such a program. Our results indicate that participation in an early childhood program is associated with significantly higher scores on the measure of school readiness.