ETHNICITY,GENDER, AGE,SES, AND ACTIVITY TYPE AS FACTORS CONTRIBUTING TO EARLY CHILDHOOD PRESERVICE TEACHERS’ INTERACTIONS WITH INTERNATIONAL AND U.S. PRESCHOOL CHILDREN

The interactions of 67 early childhood preservice teachers with International and U.S. preschool children in structured story time and unstructured table activities were videotaped and analyzed. Overall, preservice teachers displayed significantly more facilitative (e.g., ego boosting, teaching, questioning, and attending) than nonfacilitative (e.g., commanding, negatively responding, ignoring, and physical restraint) behaviors toward children. However, analyses of data relative to different ethnicity, gender, and activity type groups also revealed preservice teachers were relating to children in differential ways. Preservice teachers displayed significantly less facilitative and more nonfacilitative behaviors toward International children than U.S. children. In addition, preservice teacher‐child interactions with International children were rated as less positive and more negative than their interactions with U.S. children. Still also, preservice teachers displayed significantly less facilitative and less nonfacilitative behaviors toward girls than toward boys. Furthermore, preservice teacher‐child interactions with girls were rated as significantly less positive and less negative than with boys. Finally, preservice teachers displayed significantly more nonfacilitative behaviors toward children in structured story time activities than in unstructured table activities.     

Early Childhood Teachers Reconstruct Beliefs and Practices Through Reflexive Action

Professional development, which results in sustained transformative change, requires that teachers engage in critical reflection regarding teaching practices. In this study, a group of five bilingual and generalist early childhood teachers engaged in a journey in which they elected to try to reconstruct their beliefs and practices about teaching and learning. In response to a school district's needs, these teachers were enrolled as a cohort in an early childhood graduate program that served as part of their professional development endeavor. The teachers used reflection and ongoing dialogue that bridged theory and practice as they raised questions about their daily practices in relation to theoretical perspectives. We provide a glimpse of these teachers' ongoing transformative journeys and provide suggestions for early childhood teachers to engage in sustained professional development.     

History Reproduces Itself: The transmission of symbolic capital at a private liberal arts college in the USA

This paper describes a number of ways in which a small group of gay higher educators draw upon their sexuality in their teaching. It considers three main themes (teaching from the outside; teaching as performance; and teaching as a (gay) person) to illuminate a discussion of how sexuality and teaching can be brought into productive relation. Whilst not wanting to imply a monolithic view of gay sexual identity and its relationship with teaching, the paper explores how the approaches to teaching described disrupt dominant pedagogies and the masculinities which underpin them. The paper concludes by inviting research into the ways in which heterosexual men use their sexuality positively in teaching and learning situations in higher education.     

Understanding the information and resource needs of UK health and social care placement students

Background: Students on health and social care degree programmes spend 50% of their time on practice placements. Because of the diversity of settings and the need to evidence their work, it is vital to understand the information and resource needs of placement students. Objectives: The aim of this investigation was to understand the needs of placement students in terms of accessing resources whilst they are in the field in order to inform a guide to meet these needs. Methods: Focus groups were conducted with students on midwifery, social work and post‐registration health professions degree programmes on three different sites across the region. Data were analysed using Thematic Content Analysis. Results: Three themes emerged from the data: inequality, user education needs and students’ solutions and strategies. Conclusions: It is essential to speak to placement students in order to understand their needs in terms of accessing and using library resources. The timing and content of information skills training is key to meeting student needs while on placement.     

Limitations of levels, learning outcomes and qualifications as drivers towards a more knowledge-based society

National （and European） qualifications frameworks, the specification of learning outcomes and grand targets like the Lisbon goals of increasing the supply of graduates in Europe in order to achieve a more knowledge-based society are all predicated upon the idea of moving people through to higher and well-defmed levels of skills, knowledge and understanding. However, the work of researchers, from the UK＇s Teaching and Learning Research Programme （TLRP）, examining work-related learning from a number of perspectives, would suggest that the way to move towards a more knowledge-based society is for as many people as possible, whatever their supposed highest overall ＂level＂ of skills is, to believe that they should develop their skills, knowledge and competence in a number of ways unrelated to their current highest ＂level＂. This means rather than having an essentially binary conception of competence at the heart of the levels, it would be far more beneficial in inducing the frame of mind required of a knowledge-based society to have a developmental view of expertise. Such an approach can address three particular challenges that a ＂levels＂ approach f＇mds difficult to accommodate. First, there is the issue of transfer-there would be an expectation that graduates would be some way from ＂experienced worker standard＂ when they completed their initial training. Secondly, such an approach could provide the conditions in which a commitment to continuous improvement at work could flourish, as most people would believe that they needed to develop in a number of ways （at a range of ＂levels＂） in order to improve their performance. Thirdly, this approach of continuing to expect people to continue to develop a range of skills would offer some protection against the development of ＂skilled incompetence＂ （where organisations and individuals continue to focus upon what they do well without paying due regard to the future）.     

Distance Education During the COVID-19 Pandemic in Turkey: Identifying the Needs of Early Childhood Educators

This study aims to identify the needs of early childhood educators regarding distance education during the COVID-19 pandemic. This basic qualitative research was carried out with a study group of 24 early childhood educators, all of whom were determined via a maximum variation sampling method. The study data were gathered via interviews conducted with the participants and analyzed through an inductive approach. The study findings showed that early childhood educators need to improve their technological competencies, have more interactive resources at their disposal, be able to take advantage of a user-friendly educational platform specifically designed for the early childhood period, be provided with the resources to serve families, and have support for their psychological well-being. Considering the essential role of teachers, which the COVID-19 pandemic has called to mind, it is of vital importance to meet the abovementioned needs so as to improve the quality of distance education in early childhood.