How Early Childhood Teachers Perceive the Educational Needs of Military Dependent Children

Military dependent children remain a largely unexplored subject, particularly in early childhood education. In an effort to fill the gap in the current literature, this research study focuses on how early childhood teachers perceive the educational needs of military dependent children. Previous research in the areas of geographic mobility, parental separation, and socioemotional needs are reviewed and used as a platform for this study. The study includes a survey developed by the researcher used in conjunction with Teacher Observation of Classroom Adaptation—Checklist to further examine the needs of these children from the perceptions of their teachers. The results of the study demonstrate that while early childhood teachers do not perceive a significant difference between military and nonmilitary dependent children in the socioemotional domains of prosocial behavior, concentration, and disruptive behavior, they do believe there is a difference related to stability. Additionally, early childhood teachers noted a negative socioemotional and academic impact related to parental separation and a negative academic impact related to geographic mobility. Teachers’ responses indicated mixed beliefs about the social impact of frequent relocations.     

An Examination of Mathematics Professional Development Opportunities in Early Childhood Settings

This study investigates how and to what extent preservice and inservice early childhood educators are being prepared to develop mathematics skills and processes in young children, age birth to five, in one southeastern state in the United States. Utilizing a multi-phase mixed methods study and a follow-up survey central to the research question, findings from this study indicate that professional development in mathematics is inadequate. Few of the professional development opportunities focus on specific mathematical content areas or address the Common Core State Standards in Mathematics. In addition, the majority of the professional development opportunities are short, hourly sessions with little to no follow-up. Implications of the results and suggestions for future research are discussed.     

孔子的教师观及其现代价值

本文从“温故而知新,可以为师矣”、“温而厉,威而不猛,恭而安”、“爱之,能勿劳乎?忠焉,能勿诲乎”、“君子不器”等四个方面探讨了孔子的教师观及其现代价值,正确认识孔子的这些教师观,对当今教育有很好的借鉴意义。     

High School Teachers’ Attitudes towards the School Library

One hundred and eighty‐nine Israeli high school teachers filled in questionnaires in which they were asked about their philosophy of education and their attitudes toward and the use of their school library. When asked about their philosophy of education many answers reflected the progressive approach, although most of them gave undecisive answers. When asked about their practical work different answers were given. Only 26% of the teachers regularly give their students individual assignments, and only 14% see the contribution of the library to the learning process as very important. There were significant differences among the different departments’ teachers. More social sciences and humanities teachers view the library as an important part of the educational process and use it than the science teachers. The smallest use is made by languages, mathematics, and technical and vocational teachers.     

An Examination of the Sibling Training Hypothesis for Disruptive Behavior in Early Childhood

Sibling training for disruptive behavior (one sibling teaching another disruptive behavior) is examined during early childhood. We used a conservative, recently developed, statistical model to identify sibling training. Sibling training was operationalized as the cross‐lagged association between earlier child behavior and later sibling behavior, and differentiated from other reasons that contribute to sibling similarity. A three‐wave longitudinal study tracked 916 children (M_age = 3.46, SD = 2.23) in 397 families using multi‐informant data. Evidence for sibling training was found. Earlier younger siblings’ disruptive behavior predicted later lower levels of older siblings’ disruptive behavior. Thus, the sibling training found in early childhood was producing greater dissimilarity, rather than similarity, on disruptive behavior.     

Evaluative Conditioning and the Development of Attitudes in Early Childhood

Many attitudes are acquired in early childhood. However, due to a lack of experimental research, little is known about the processes of how they are acquired. Two experiments were therefore conducted with 153 German kindergarten children aged 3–6 years that provide first evidence for childhood attitude formation in terms of evaluative conditioning. Specifically, it was found that children preferred novel stimuli previously paired with liked stimuli over novel stimuli previously paired with disliked stimuli. This effect occurred independently of age, generalized toward similar novel stimuli, and did not depend on children's recollection of how stimuli were paired. The findings are discussed in terms of the processes underlying childhood attitude formation, and implications for related research areas are highlighted.     

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.     

Science and Theatre Education: A Cross-disciplinary Approach of Scientific Ideas Addressed to Student Teachers of Early Childhood Education

There is, in Greece, an ongoing attempt to breach the boundaries established between the different teaching-learning subjects of compulsory education. In this context, we are interested in exploring to what degree the teaching and learning of ideas from the sciences’ “internal life” (Hacking, in: Pickering (ed) Science as practice and culture, 1992) benefits from creatively coming into contact with theatrical education as part of the corresponding curriculum subject. To this end, 57 students of the Early Childhood Education Department of the University of Athens were called to study extracts from Galileo’s Dialogue Concerning the Two Chief World Systems, Ptolemaic and Copernican, to focus on a subject that the Dialogue’s “interlocutors” forcefully disagree about and to theatrically represent (using shadow theatre techniques) what they considered as being the central idea of this clash of opinions. The results indicate that this attempt leads to a satisfactory understanding of ideas relating to the content and methodology of the natural sciences. At the same time, theatrical education avails itself of the representation of scientific ideas and avoids the clichés and hackneyed techniques that the (often) simplistic choices available in the educational context of early childhood education tend towards. The basic reasons for both facets of this success are: (a) Genuine scientific texts force the students to approach them with seriousness, and all the more so if these recount the manner in which scientific ideas are produced and are embedded in the historical and social context of the age that created them; (b) The theatrical framework, which essentially guides the students’ activities, allows (if not obliges) them to approach scientific issues creatively; in other words, it allows them to create something related to science and recognize it as theirs; and, (c) Both the narrative texts describing processes of “science making” (Bruner, J Sci Educ Technol 1:5–12, 1992) and theatrical expression constitute fields that are characterized by what, for the students, is a common and understandable manner of expression: the narrative.     

Student Teachers' Attitudes Towards the Inclusion of Children with Special Needs

Previous research has suggested that teachers' attitudes are crucial to the success of inclusion programs for children with special needs. In the present study, the impact of special needs category (intellectual disabilities versus emotional and behavioural problems) and student teachers' training (being trained to work with either younger or older children) on their attitudes towards inclusion were explored. Ninety three student teachers completed a new measure of attitudes towards inclusion: the Impact of Inclusion Questionnaire (IIQ). Results showed that student teachers were more negative about the impact of children with emotional and behavioural problems on other children, teachers, and the school environment than they were about children with intellectual disabilities. There was little support for the effects of training background or student teachers' previous experience of special needs on their attitudes. Implications for inclusion programs and future research are briefly discussed.     

论幼儿科学教育儿童化

随着幼儿教育理论研究的深入和幼儿教育实践的不断发展,科学教育越来越受到理论和实践工作者的广泛重视。虽然国内外关于幼儿科学教育的理论与实践研究势头尚好。但总体而言,我国幼儿科学教育的研究起步较晚,在科学教育理论与具体的教育实践活动中仍然存在许多问题。需要在幼儿科学教育课程、环境、方法及评价等各方面进行改革,力求实现幼儿科学教育的儿童化。     

本科师范生对随班就读态度的调查

为了解普通高等师范院校本科师范生对随班就读的态度,我们对师范专业大三、大四学生进行了大学生对特殊儿童随班就读态度的问卷调查。结果表明,不少师范生对随班就读缺乏深入认识,态度更倾向于消极。而随班就读相关课程的学习对接纳态度有显著影响。另外,他们普遍愿意学习随班就读相关知识和技能,以便更好地教育特殊儿童。     

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.