Challenges and barriers to Austrian early childhood educators' participation in online professional development programmes

Online professional development programmes have a long tradition in adult education. However, in early childhood education, such programmes are only just beginning to be developed. Before online professional development courses can be made inclusive, accessible and widely available to early childhood educators, they must meet a few basic requirements. The present study provides insights into essential aspects that need to be considered when setting up online professional development programmes, a field which is still in its infancy in Austria. The results of a representative survey (n = 317) demonstrated that early childhood educators' digital competencies are highly variable and cannot be taken for granted. The survey results also stress the need to provide educators with functional digital devices appropriate to their work environment. Early childhood educators' interest in online professional development programmes is very high, in recognition of the advantages afforded by flexible participation options independent of users' time constraints or location. The development of attractive, compelling and accessible online professional development courses can contribute to current professionalisation efforts in the field of early childhood education.

Practitioner notes

What is already known about this topic

• Online professional development has already a very long tradition in the field of adult vocational training but not in Early Childhood Education.
• The possibility of attending online professional development programmes independent of a participant's time constraints or location is viewed as a particularly beneficial advantage.
• Online professional development programmes positively affect the professionalisation of educators. For this reason, they must increasingly be integrated into the field of early childhood education.

What this paper adds

• In the field of early childhood education in German-speaking regions, online professional development training courses are only beginning to be developed.
• This paper examines the challenges and barriers for early childhood educators associated with implementing online professional development programmes for early childhood educators.
• The survey was conducted during the COVID-19 pandemic and includes current data on the ongoing digitalisation boom.

Implications for practise and/or policy

• Online professional development courses should not be understood as competition for conventional face-to-face programmes. Instead, they act as a useful supplement.
• Media competencies are a fundamental prerequisite for everyday professional life—early childhood educators need functional media devices, stable internet connections, and support structures in IT and computer literacy.
• Early childhood educators require effective instruction in using online professional development programmes to expand online professional development programmes in their field. They must also address compelling topics in early childhood education relevant to educators' practise.

     

Considerations When Using Videos in Lamaze Classes

There are enough worthwhile videos available today so that a Lamaze Certified Childbirth Educator could literally teach an entire class series using only videos and feedback discussion. In this column, the author explores considerations in choosing videos for adult learners in Lamaze birth classes. Some things to consider when using videos should be the adult learner’s attention span, whether the video increases fear of birth or empowers the learner, and if the video is appropriate for the culture of the class participants. Finally, the author provides a list of some of the many wonderful videos available to Lamaze birth educators.     

In Search of a Common Agenda for Planned Home Birth in America

Leading maternity provider organizations in North America have been in conflict about birth at home and birth centers, debating issues related to safety, access, the value of obstetric intervention, and patient autonomy. In today’s environment, childbirth educators and doulas are often required to explain to parents why physiological birth and evidence-based, low-technology methods of labor and birth care are not available in every setting, and why maternity providers disagree about birth place. There are very few regions in the United States where home birth providers are integrated into interprofessional provider networks that allow for seamless care across birth settings. In October 2011, multidisciplinary leaders met at a Home Birth Consensus Summit in Warrenton, Virginia, to discuss the status of home birth within the greater context of maternity care in the United States. This article describes the intent and outcomes of the summit. Four of the nine consensus statements developed at the summit are of particular interest and importance to mothers and families and, hence, to childbirth educators and advocates. Consumers, educators, and birth advocates are encouraged to widen the circle, identify communications experts, lead individual projects, or serve as advisors.     

Feedback consistencies and inconsistencies: eight mentors’ observations on one preservice teacher’s lesson

Mentors play a key role in developing preservice teachers for their chosen careers, and providing feedback appears as a significant relational interaction between the mentor and mentee that assists in guiding the mentee’s practices. But what are mentors’ perspectives on providing feedback to their mentees? In this case study, eight mentors viewed a professional video-recorded science lesson facilitated by a final-year preservice teacher during practicum for the purposes of providing oral feedback in a simulated mentor–mentee discussion. Findings showed that mentors’ feedback was variable in both their positive feedback and constructive criticisms and, in one case, the feedback was contrasting in nature. Implications are discussed, including preservice teachers receiving feedback from more than one mentor and universities researching the design of valid and reliable tools to guide mentors’ oral feedback     

我国县域义务教育学校教师流动制度：现状、问题与对策——基于31个省（自治区、直辖市）现行相关政策文本的分析

我国县域义务教育学校教师流动制度存在的问题主要是政策类型失真、政策要素失全、运作模式失范、保障措施失力与理论基础失实。完善我国县域义务教育学校教师流动制度的政策建议主要有把准政策类型、完善政策要素、规范运作模式、强化保障措施与重建理论基础。     

Understanding the Complexity of Becoming a Teacher Educator: Experience,belonging, and practice within a professional learning community

This article reports a literature review of self-studies by beginning teacher educators examining their experiences of the transition from classroom teaching to teacher educator. The authors conclude that becoming a teacher educator involves several complex and challenging tasks: examining beliefs and values grounded in personal biography, including those associated with being a former schoolteacher; navigating the complex social and institutional contexts in which they work; and developing a personal pedagogy of teacher education that enables construction of a new professional identity as a teacher educator. This research provides beginning teacher educators with a reference point for understanding their personal and professional transition to university-based teacher education. It also provides teacher education faculty and administrators with key information about how the transition from teacher to teacher educator can be supported and enhanced within professional learning communities.     

When Magic Becomes Art: Educating Teachers

Metaphors representing the practice of teacher educators were the data for this collaborative self-study by a small group of teacher educators from across the USA. Seventy-five pre-service teachers and practicing teachers enrolled in teacher education courses were asked to create metaphors to represent the teaching practices of the authors, who were their professors at the time. Qualitative analysis of these data revealed that many of these students believed that effective teaching springs from a kind of teacher magic – a mysterious force arising from the personal characteristics of the teacher rather than from any purposeful selection from a repertoire of instructional strategies – developed over time. For the researchers, these results posed a challenge for reworking their teaching to make the art of teaching more visible and accessible.     

镜室的映照——对合作探究群体生成实践性知识的探析

一个以教育工作者为成员的合作探究群体在面对真实的教育困境时,如何通过对话探究生成实践性知识？研究发现：不论是教育研究者还是实践者都不能在掌握理论知识与实践经验后自动获得有关教育行动正当性与有效性的判断力;指向行动改变的学习要以他们原有心智模式浮现为前提,而这有赖于群体成员之间的相互激发。此外,“习惯性防御”普遍存在于群体中,成员对此必须有所警惕,并设法创设一个安全、宽松的学习氛围,以减少成员的防御。此类以行动科学作为理论基础的研究,不仅有助于促进教育工作者反思自身既存现况,以增加自己专业行动的有效性,而且能够为构建学习型组织提供理论与实践借鉴。     

CHICANA/O STUDENT JOURNALISTS MAP OUT A CHICANA/O JOURNALISM PRACTICE

Research documenting the media under-representation of people of color indicates that unless journalists re-imagine the way they report on communities of color, those growing segments may be left without a stake in the “public imaginary.” In this paper, I suggest that journalism educators turn their attention to Chicano/a student journalists in order to begin the process of re-envisioning newsgathering and writing in ways that more accurately depict and inform Latino/a communities. Driven by a collaboration between myself and undergraduate student producers of Venceremos, a bilingual Chicano/a student publication at a western state university, this paper builds a case for why these student journalists are an important source of knowledge and inspiration for journalism educators concerned with improving mainstream coverage of diverse communities. The essay also summarizes my association with the Venceremos staff in order to model how journalism educators can team up with alternative student journalists and it demarcates traits that typify their evolving Chicano/a journalism practice.     

A Tribute to Florence

Faith-based organizations (FBOs) have an important presence in contemporary civil society and have gained further prominence through their repertoire of social welfare and services. This study engaged social work educators (n = 316) across nine countries to examine their perceptions of including discourses on faith and FBOs in the social work curriculum. Findings are discussed in terms of intercountry variations on whether FBOs should form a part of the social work curriculum, the curriculum objectives, content, and positioning, and whether the curricular orientation should promote partnerships/collaborations/synergies between FBOs and the discipline of social work.