Revealing the research ‘hole’ of early childhood education for sustainability: a preliminary survey of the literature

In 2007, Environmental Education Research dedicated a special issue to childhood and environmental education. This paper makes a case for ‘early childhood’ to also be in the discussions. Here, I am referring to early childhood as the before‐school years, focusing on educational settings such as childcare centres and kindergartens. This sector is one of the research ‘holes’ that Reid and Scott ask the environmental education community to have the ‘courage to discuss’. This paper draws on a survey of Australian and international research journals in environmental education and early childhood education seeking studies at their intersection. Few were found. Some studies explored young children’s relationships with nature (education in the environment). A smaller number discussed young children’s understandings of environmental topics (education about the environment). Hardly any centred on young children as agents of change (education for the environment). At a time when there is a growing literature showing that early investments in human capital offer substantial returns to individuals and communities and have a far‐reaching effect – and when early childhood educators are beginning to engage with sustainability – it is vital that our field responds. This paper calls for urgent action – especially for research – to address the gap.     

Pre‐service primary education teachers’ changing attitudes towards teaching: a longitudinal study

This study investigated the longitudinal changes in the attitudes of pre‐service primary education teachers towards the teaching profession as they progressed through training. The results indicate that there is a significant difference in pre‐service teachers’ attitudes towards the profession between their freshman and senior years. Moreover, the findings obtained through interview data have shown that both positive and negative changes occur in pre‐service teachers’ attitudes towards teaching throughout their education, and these changes are observed to be related to teaching practice, cooperating teachers, teacher education institutions and teacher educators.     

Employing the five‐factor mentoring instrument: analysing mentoring practices for teaching primary science

Primary science education is a concern around the world and quality mentoring within schools can develop pre‐service teachers' practices. A five‐factor model for mentoring has been identified, namely, personal attributes, system requirements, pedagogical knowledge, modelling, and feedback. Final‐year pre‐service teachers (mentees, n = 211) from three Turkish universities were administered a previously validated instrument to gather perceptions of their mentoring in primary science teaching. ANOVA indicated that each of these five factors was statistically significant (p<.001) with mean scale scores ranging from 3.36 to 4.12. Although mentees perceived their mentors to provide evaluation feedback (95%), model classroom management (88%), guide their preparation (96%), and outline the science curriculum (92%), the majority of mentors were perceived not to assist their mentees in 10 of the 34 survey items. Professional development programmes that target the specific needs of these mentors may further enhance mentoring practices for advancing primary science teaching.     

墨子的技艺教育思想与先秦两种教育

先秦墨家代表手工业的小生产劳动者思想,一度显赫非常,成为与儒家并列而对抗的政治教育集团和学派。在儒家理论体系中,“士”的教育与百工教育是两种不同的教育。墨家传授劳动技术的内容,大多上升为经验科技的形态,可以看到中国古代生产技术向科学理论飞跃的最早成果,为古代技艺教育谱写了光辉的一页。     

当事人合同义务的比较研究

当事人在合同的成立前负有先合同义务,在履行中负有合同约定义务及附随义务,在合同终止后负有后合同义务。先合同义务、合同约定义务、合同附随义务、后合同义务这四种义务在概念与期间、依据与根据、内容、产生与后果、性质等五个方面,既有相通之处,又有不同之处,通过比较分析,有利于系统地理解和掌握。     

Pre‐school Verbo‐sensory Motor Status as a Predictor of Educational Life‐courses and Self‐perceptions of Young Adults

During a 15‐year longitudinal study, 31 Finnish students (risk group) who had been identified as having deficiencies in reading and writing readiness at pre‐school through the German Breuer–Weuffen Differentiation Test were compared with their peers (n = 62) in order to study long‐term differences that emerged at the starting point of the study. In 1999, the students in the risk group were found to achieve significantly lower final school grades and they also had lower perceptions of their own scholastic competence. In 2005, students in the risk group perceived themselves as less competent than their peers in social acceptance, sense of global self‐worth areas and in the strength‐perceptions related to mathematical thinking, learning skills, and self‐regulation. Path analyses showed that verbo‐sensory motor status measured at pre‐school age had long‐term effects on participants’ educational life‐course and global self‐worth. Possible explanations of the findings and implications for early identification are discussed.     

‘Baby teachers’: how pre‐service early childhood students transform their conceptions of teaching and learning through an infant practicum

This qualitative study explores how working with infants changed pre‐service early childhood students’ thinking about important aspects of early childhood education. Through a qualitative analysis of four pre‐service early childhood students’ weekly dialogue journals during a required, one‐semester infant practicum, the authors discovered how the course provided a context for challenging students’ previously held notions about early childhood teaching and learning. Their findings showed that infants’ ways of being were a powerful influence on pre‐service early childhood students’ sense of themselves as teachers and emphasized the value of hands‐on experiences with infants as an important component of early childhood professional preparation.     

幼儿英语教育目标定位及学前英语师资培养策略

文章从英语师资分层培养目标、实现幼儿英语师资培养“英语＋幼教”双专业化、加强幼儿英语教育的理论和实践研究等方面提出学前英语师资培养培训策略,为有效实现幼儿英语教育的终极目标提供师资保证.