An undergraduate inclusive teacher preparation programme in early childhood education: an online delivery approach

As teacher shortages or teacher turnover rate continue to proliferate in the field of early childhood education (ECE) across the United States in the past few decades, there seem to be a pressing need for teacher preparation programmes to accommodate prospective ECE pre-service teachers (who do not have the chance to enroll in traditional teacher preparation programmes due to geographical reasons, busy daily work schedules, and other personal reasons). This accommodation will provide them the alternative to complete their entire online coursework in ECE that would adequately prepare them for careers in various inclusive early childhood settings. This article will describe the organization and development of an alternative online approach for the degree of Bachelor of Science in ECE in a southwestern state of the United States.     

Early childhood teacher education in the United Kingdom

This paper presents a review of the roots of early childhood education in England and Wales and the recent pressures on the training institutions in regard to the form and content of teacher preparation.     

Policy and advocacy concepts and processes: innovative content in early childhood teacher education

Knowledge and skills regarding policy and advocacy are important expectations for today's early childhood workforce, yet policy and advocacy content and processes have not traditionally been emphasized in teacher preparation programmes. This article describes an innovative undergraduate course that goes beyond traditional foci on developmental research and pedagogy and aims to inform future early childhood professionals about policies and policy-making procedures. The course also prepares students to engage in advocacy efforts on behalf of young children and their families by providing content on advocacy processes and opportunities, and by requiring students to complete an advocacy project. The authors present student responses to the course and discuss possible implications for research and practice.     

Perceptions of early childhood education professionals on teacher leadership in Finland

This study investigated perceptions of early childhood education (ECE) professionals employed at three ECE centres on teacher leadership enactment in Finland. These professionals comprised childcare nurses, teachers and ECE centre directors. Theoretically, the study was anchored on an analysis of teacher leadership and distributed leadership literature comprising research based in early childhood and school education contexts. Findings based on focus groups and interviews with participants suggest that teacher leadership was perceived as a responsibility of ECE pedagogy in Finland. Centre directors were considered remote from daily practice and leadership for pedagogy within the centres was shared with teachers. Teacher leadership was enacted through assessment, planning and ensuring that pedagogy was connected with each centre’s goals. Participants’ perceptions also indicated that centres differed on how support was being provided to teacher leaders.     

Professionalism and the preparation of early childhood education practitioners

The call for reform in early childhood education has resulted in proposals for improving the level of professionalism among early childhood practitioners and the establishment of credentialling systems. A further result has been the modification of state early childhood teacher certification. This paper argues that the integration of new knowledge emerging from studies of practice and child development can help raise levels of professionalism.     

Professional training and education of early childhood teachers #oppre-school teachers = forskollarare#cp in Sweden

This paper aims to provide a brief overview of the principles and practice controlling the initial preparation of early childhood teachers in Sweden.     

Recent coverage of early childhood education approaches in open access early childhood journals

A content analysis of the coverage of the major approaches to early childhood education in the early childhood research journals, published between 2010 and 2014, that are early childhood research oriented and have free online access were investigated. Among 21 journals in early childhood education, two journals were selected for the content analysis of the major approaches to early childhood education: Early Childhood Research and Practice and International Research in Early Childhood Education. These early childhood journals are the only journals that are fully online and available for free. The results showed that Head Start was the most frequently used approach that appeared in these journals followed by Reggio Emilia. The theory of Internet Information Gatekeepers guided this current research's theoretical framework. A brief overview of each approach was provided along with the significance of the study. Concerns about the ways approaches were mentioned in the studies were discussed.     

There's an alien in my playcorner: Computers and the early childhood teacher

This paper examines computers in relation to early childhood teachers, the children they teach and the curriculum. The author points out that there is no doubt that young children are able to use and learn from computers; but as to why children should use computers in preference to more traditional means she finds no answers in the current literature. Increased government intervention in education has resulted in major changes in schools curricula. The examples Britain and parts of Australia are cited. Concomitant with these changes comes state promotion of computers in to schools. Yet whether technology is adapted to education, or vice versa, has not yet been addressed. The position of teachers relative to this innovation is reviewed and the complexity of how a teacher acquires the necessary competence to use computers effectively in class is enunciated. The article looks finally to the future and calls on governments, policy makers and the computer industry to fund research into the use of computers in the early years.     

An alternative graduate teacher inclusive preparation programme in early childhood education: a collaboration model

Teacher shortages are a pervasive global issue that is expected to continue, especially in low-performing, high-needs schools [O'Connor, E. A., Malow, M. S., & Bisland, B. M. (2011). Mentorship and instruction received during training: Views of alternatively certified teachers. Educational Review, 63(2), 219–232]. In an effort to meet the demand of qualified teachers and mediate the teacher shortage, governments have had to seek innovative methods to produce increasing numbers of certified teachers while preserving teacher quality. ‘In 2005, 122 alternative routes to teacher certification exist in the United States, in 47 of 50 states and the District of Columbia’ (National Center for Education Information, as cited in O'Connor et al. (2011). This paper will describe one alternative route to the licensure programme created, in collaboration between the local university and school district, to meet the demand for qualified early childhood teachers in a large school district in the Southwestern USA.     

The examination of teacher stress among Turkish early childhood education teachers

The purpose of this study is to examine the level of teacher stress experienced by Turkish early childhood education teachers working in public and private preschools serving children from three to six years of age. The participants of the study include 1119 early childhood education teachers gathered through simple random sampling. The data are gathered through teacher stress inventory developed by Micheal Fimian [1984. The development of an instrument to measure occupational stress in teachers: The teacher stress inventory. Journal of Occupational Psychology, 57, 277–293], which is adapted into Turkish through preliminary psychometric investigation of its validity and reliability. Based on correlation analysis, one sample t-test and analysis of variance findings suggest that teachers' occupational stress is related to teachers' monthly income, gender, years of experience in occupation and age level of children that they are working with.     

Early childhood teachers' preparation and the quality of program outcomes

The issue of the preparation of effective teachers becomes more critical for teachers of early childhood programs. It has been hypothesized that better program quality depends on better-educated teachers. The purpose of this investigation was to explore the importance of a high level of education for all early childhood education teachers. This issue has intrigued early childhood researchers and has prompted a large amount of research studies over the past decades. In order to assess the status of this line of inquiry and to provide guidance for future research, a critical analysis of 40 studies on the preparation of early childhood education teachers and the quality of their educational programs that were published within a 15-year (1989-2004) period is presented here. The analysis consisted of literal and allegorical critical analysis and interpretative critical analyses, which generated results in three main areas that focused on the professional development of the teachers, including teachers' professional development, the importance of a Bachelor's Degree and educational standards for early childhood education teachers.     

A Narrative Inquiry into Teaching of In-service Kindergarten Teachers: implications for re-conceptualizing early childhood teacher education in Hong Kong

Narrative provides meaning and belonging in human lives because every human experience is a lived story, and a storied experience. Rooted in Dewey's thoughts on the past-present-future continuum of experience, Connelly and Clandinin define narrative inquiry as "the study of how humans make meaning of experience by endlessly telling and retelling stories about themselves that both refigure the past and create purpose in the future" (1988, p. 21). In the present paper, I first explore the meanings of early childhood education and depict the general background of early childhood education in Hong Kong. Then, by adopting Schwab's (1973) four commonplaces of subject matter, learner, milieu and teacher as a curriculum framework, I examine curriculum issues in kindergarten with illustrations of my experienced stories about the teaching of an in-service kindergarten teacher in Hong Kong. Finally, based on Schwab's four curriculum commonplaces, I analyze the Reform Proposals for the Education System in Hong Kong as published in September 2000 by the Hong Kong Education Commission with special emphasis on early childhood education and pre-primary teacher education in Hong Kong for the new millennium.     

Use of child development assessment in early childhood education: early childhood practitioner and student attitudes toward formal and informal testing

Twenty early childhood practitioners (ECPs) and final‐year Bachelor of Early Childhood Studies students completed a questionnaire about their use (or planned use) of formal and informal child development assessment instruments, their choice of specific instruments, and factors influencing decisions to conduct child development assessments within their early childhood programmes. While most ECPs and all students indicated use (or planned use) of informal assessment, 70% of students and only 10% of ECPs indicated use of formal assessment. Whereas ECPs identified ‘ease of use’ as most important, ‘accuracy of the instrument’ was most important to students. In deciding to use any assessment, students ranked ‘identifies children at risk’ as most important, compared with ECPs who ranked ‘provides a good picture of children's development’ as most important. Results are discussed in terms of their implications for the early childhood field and for pre‐service training in child development assessment.     

Use of child development assessment in early childhood education: early childhood practitioner and student attitudes toward formal and informal testing

Twenty early childhood practitioners (ECPs) and final-year Bachelor of Early Childhood Studies students completed a questionnaire about their use (or planned use) of formal and informal child development assessment instruments, their choice of specific instruments, and factors influencing decisions to conduct child development assessments within their early childhood programmes. While most ECPs and all students indicated use (or planned use) of informal assessment, 70% of students and only 10% of ECPs indicated use of formal assessment. Whereas ECPs identified 'ease of use' as most important, 'accuracy of the instrument' was most important to students. In deciding to use any assessment, students ranked 'identifies children at risk' as most important, compared with ECPs who ranked 'provides a good picture of children's development' as most important. Results are discussed in terms of their implications for the early childhood field and for pre-service training in child development assessment.     

Evaluating quality in early childhood education in relation with children outcomes in Greek context

ABSTRACT

The aim of the current study was to evaluate the relation of early childhood education global quality with children outcomes in the Greek early childhood education settings. Quality was assessed by the Early Childhood Environment Rating Scale-Revised (ECERS-R), whereas the Utrecht Early Math Competence Scale and Concepts About Print Scale were used to measure child outcomes. The sample of the current study was 51 Greek early childhood classrooms and 402 children (202 boys and 200 girls) attending these classrooms. Results indicated that quality, measured by the ECERS-R, is significantly related to children outcomes, such as early mathematical skills and knowledge about print. The global quality measured by the ECERS-R is related to child outcomes; however, more studies will be needed to fully investigate the role of global quality in facilitating children’s cognitive development. Implications of the study’s results at national and international levels were also discussed.     

Early childhood teacher preparation in Taiwan

Against the background of early attempts to establish provision for young children in China, influenced by practices imported from Japan. This paper describes the current scene in Taiwan and focusses on issues to be resolved currently.     

Early childhood teacher education in Indonesia

As a background to understanding Indonesia's system of early-childhood teacher education, it is first useful to learn something of the nation's social characteristics and educational development. Therefore, the following chapter begins with an overview of the country's sociopolitical condition and modes of schooling. Next, attention is directed at provisions for the education of children ages three through six. Subsequently, the preparation of teachers of young children is described in some detail.