The effect of improving preschool teacher/child ratios: an “experiment in nature”

The present study examines the effect of an improved staff ratio in New Zealand kindergartens on interactions between children and teachers. Four kindergartens which acquired a third teacher were compared with four contrast kindergartens which continued with their usual staffing of two teachers. Data were collected from each kindergarten on three occasions. Fourteen children from three-teacher kindergartens and 21 children from two-teacher kindergartens were observed for 30 minutes, in November before the third teacher was introduced, and in March and July after the third teacher had started working in half of the kindergartens. Staff members were also observed on the three occasions for an hour. The introduction of a third teacher was associated with a statistically significant reduction in children's negative behaviour to peers. Children played more positively with peers, talked more and interacted more with teachers after the third teacher started but these differences were not statistically significant. Teacher behaviour showed fewer changes than child behaviour after a third teacher was introduced, but teachers in third teacher kindergartens made more non-verbal initiations to children, talked more to parents, were more involved in children's play and talked to each other more with the extra staff member. It was concluded that a third teacher did improve the quality of the preschool but that other confounding factors associated with “experiments in nature” (such as subject attrition) prevented more definitive findings.     

A model for university/early childhood education partnerships

A model for university/early childhood partnerships located in the community was designed based on previous and present characteristics of university/school teaching centers and professional development schools. The long-range goals of this collaborative model were to raise the quality of future preschool and child care teachers, to enhance university early childhood teacher education programs, and to strengthen child care and preschool programs. The present case study focused on the first step of developing a viable model for sustained rather than temporary partnerships. Formal collaborative roles supported by higher level administrative commitment were found to be necessary to overcome differences in goals and values. Overcoming such institutional differences may be easier to accomplish in smaller early childhood programs. Future early childhood partnerships need to be developed and evaluated to determine the long-term impact of this partnership model on enhancing early childhood programs and on producing better teachers.This study could not have been done without the active support of the Head Start staff members, the 13 Roosevelt University early childhood students, and Elizabeth Jones, the Head Start director.     

The Relationship between Parent/Staff Communication and Children's Behaviour in Early Childhood Settings

The relationship between parent/staff communication and the behaviour and adjustment of 3 to 4 year old children was examined. Sixty children attending childcare centres or kindergartens were observed and their parents and teachers interviewed about the nature and quality of parent-staff communications. There were many small but significant correlations between measures of staff/parent relationships and children's behaviour. Where there was more parent/staff communication, and it was more balanced, warm and reciprocal, children were more likely to talk with teachers or be close to teachers, and were perceived by staff to be better adjusted. Also better parent/staff communication was related to more positive and less negative social interactions with peers. Parents spent more time touching and farewelling their children when they had better relationships with staff. Parents with cooler, more distant and professional relationships spent longer settling their children in to play activities before their departure.     

Early Childhood Education in Japan and the United States: A Comparison of Regular Education (Kindergarten and Daycare Programs) and Special Education Programs

The researcher spent two months in Japan in 1994 to conduct the study. The purpose of the study was (1) to observe, videotape and describe the types of programs involved in early childhood education in Japan; kindergartens, daycare centers and special education programs for children ages 0-6, (2) to interview teachers and parents involved in early childhood programs both regular education and special education regarding curriculum and parent involvement in Japan, (3) to interview professors, principals regarding early childhood education regular and special in terms of curriculum, parent involvement and teacher training.     

Understanding and enhancing multicultural teaching in preschool

Preschool teachers are an important element of high-quality, developmentally and multiculturally appropriate early childhood programmes. 7.5% of the total 160,000 children enrolled in Hong Kong kindergartens are ethnic-minority students and they are neglected in the Hong Kong education system until 2008. This study investigated the perceptions of teaching competency in multicultural classrooms held by 347 teachers at 22 kindergartens in Hong Kong. The study aims at (a) using Confirmatory Factor Analysis to validate the factor structure of the multicultural teaching competency scale (MTCS) among preschool teachers, (b) assessing the model difference of MTCS between teachers with and without multicultural training, and (c) informing the practice of multicultural teaching in early childhood education. The results indicated that a tripartite model in which the MTCS assessed skills, knowledge, and relationships obtained a statistical fit to a Hong Kong preschool sample, as in earlier research on a primary school sample in Hong Kong.     

Combating violence against children: Jordanian pre-service early childhood teachers’ perceptions towards child abuse and neglect

Early childhood teachers play major roles in defying child abuse and neglect and alleviating its detrimental effects on young children. Therefore, this study aimed at exploring how Jordanian pre-service early childhood teachers define and perceive violence against children and their role in child abuse detection and prevention. Furthermore, the study aimed at identifying pre-service early childhood perceived preparation needs in child abuse and neglect. To achieve the study purposes, an interpretive qualitative approach was utilised. Semi-structured in-depth interviews were conducted with 25 pre-service early childhood teachers who completed a compulsory course in child abuse at the time of the study. Thematic analysis was applied to data through which findings were confined to three themes corresponding to the research questions: violence and abuse defined; perceived preparation needs; and perceived roles in child protection. Several implications and recommendations for educators and teacher preparation programmes were offered and discussed based on the findings of this study.     

Baseline survey of sun-protection knowledge, practices and policy in early childhood settings in Queensland, Australia

Excessive exposure to sunlight during early childhood increases the risk of developing skin cancer. Self-administered questionnaires exploring sun-protection knowledge, practices and policy were mailed to the directors/coordinators/senior teachers of all known early childhood services in Queensland, Australia, in 2002 (n = 1383; 56.5% response). Most (73.7%) services had a written sun-protection policy (SPP). However, 40.6% of pre-schools and kindergartens had not developed a written SPP. Most directors had moderate knowledge about sun-protection (median score: 7/12 [IQR 6, 8]), but few understood the UV index, the sun-protection factor rating for sunscreens or the association between childhood sun-exposure, mole development and melanoma. Pre-school teachers had lower knowledge scores than directors of long day care centers and other services (P = 0.0005). Staff members reportedly wore sun-protective hats, clothing and sunglasses more often than children. However, sunscreen use was higher among children than staff. Directors' knowledge scores predicted reported hat, clothing, sunscreen and shade utilization among children. Remoteness impacted negatively on director's knowledge (P = 0.043) and written SPP development (P = 0.0005). Higher composite sun-protection scores were reported for children and staff from services with written sun-protection policies. SPP development and increased sun-protection knowledge of directors may improve reported sun-protective behaviors of children and staff of early childhood services.     

The views of kindergarten staff on educational objectives in post-socialist society

Over the past decade great changes have occurred in the Estonian system of education, including changes in the content and organisation of early childhood education. The aim of the present study is to find out about the views of staff of early childhood institutions on educational objectives, some aspects of the educational process and the role of family in childrearing. We used a questionnaire involving 342 participants, including 95 heads of kindergartens and 247 teachers. The results indicate that a holistic approach to personality and taking into account a child's individual characteristics are considered the most important educational objectives by the kindergarten staff. They also emphasise the necessity of creating a playful and pleasant atmosphere in kindergartens. At the same time, the study has revealed that the kindergarten staff attach importance to the child-centred approach in the kindergarten whereas cooperation with families is not considered equally important. Kindergarten staff are not ready to take parents as equal partners and share responsibility with them. The results of the study are compared with the educational objectives of a socialist society.     

Enhancing early childhood schooling of South Asian children in Hong Kong: beliefs and perceptions of kindergarten teachers and principals

Enhancing quality early childhood education and enabling access for ethnic minority South Asian (SA) children in kindergartens have increasingly been a social concern in Hong Kong. This empirical study examines the beliefs and perceptions of kindergarten teachers and principals towards educating SA children in their own educational settings. The research focus was sharpened by a case-study method to examine the effectiveness of SA children from two different kindergartens with significant demographic differences. In total, 10 focus group interviews with 29 teachers and individual interviews with the 2 principals were conducted to understand their perspectives on the learning and transitional needs of SA children. The findings reveal a remarkable difference between the beliefs and perceptions of both teachers and principals from the two kindergartens in response to the diverse needs of SA children. School policy, practice and the implications for the development of early years education are discussed.     

Exploring a comprehensive model for early childhood vocabulary instruction: a design experiment

Addressing a critical need for effective vocabulary practices in early childhood classrooms, we conducted a design experiment to achieve three goals: (1) developing a comprehensive model for early childhood vocabulary instruction, (2) examining the effectiveness of this model, and (3) discerning the contextual conditions that hinder or facilitate its implementation. Guided by sociocultural theory and the design experiment framework, our study was conducted in one Head Start classroom and included a control class for comparison. The resulting model extends the existing instruction in several ways and effectively increases children's target vocabulary knowledge. Contextual constraints were identified (high teacher turnover, low teacher buy-in, and rigid teacher roles) and addressed by working with the teachers towards developing a community of practice.     

Kindergarten teachers' views about the importance of preschoolers' participation in sports in Singapore

Children's involvement in sports develops their diverse lifelong skills in the physical (a positive attitude toward healthy lifestyle), cognitive, emotional and social domains. Children enjoy a day out in the open, enjoying the free space, the wind in their hair, the smells that stimulate their senses, the touch of different and new things to be discovered in an enriched outdoor environment. Central to the success of promoting preschooler involvement in sports are the roles that teachers and kindergartens play. This study investigated the views of teachers and preschooler participation in sport; the teachers' views of their kindergartens, the community, parents in relation to preschoolers' participation in sports. In addition, the study also questioned teacher's awareness and use of available resources in their kindergartens and the community. The results showed that, in general, teachers, the kindergartens, children's parents and the community are supportive of preschoolers' participation in sports. There appears, however, to be a lack of kindergarten teacher awareness and usage of resources within the community. Promoting preschooler involvement in sports involving multiple levels of organization and clear communication between sports agencies and local kindergartens are recommended.     

Teacher work environments are toddler learning environments: teacher professional well-being,classroom emotional support,and toddlers’ emotional expressions and behaviours

The current study examines the professional well-being of teachers, the classroom emotional support, and the emotional experiences of toddlers in their care. Professional well-being of teachers is conceptualized to include teacher feelings about their work, autonomy in decision-making, actual wages, and perceptions of fairness of wages within the programme as well as within the early childhood profession at large. The study empirically supports relationships among teacher professional well-being, classroom emotional support, and the emotional expressions and behaviours of toddlers. Early childhood policy implications regarding teacher professional well-being and toddler classroom emotional environments are discussed.     

Early childhood teacher involvement in children’s socio-dramatic play: creative drama as a scaffolding tool

We acknowledge the importance of scaffolding during play; thus, the present study explores the ways early childhood (EC) teachers provide guidance during children’s socio-dramatic play and how they employ creative drama in their play interactions. Data collection included the play video recordings of an in-service teacher with a drama background, who was used as an instrumental study, to then explore the videos of 17 student teachers. Findings suggest that EC teachers employ multiple levels of guidance during play with the most frequent being indirect involvement. All of them employed the drama technique ‘teacher in role’ in order to include new elements in children’s scenario, to develop roles and to support material uses. Creative drama can develop a proximal development play zone through which teachers can support role and scenario development during socio-dramatic play. This study proposes a three-stage training framework for teachers to develop their play skills.     

Can you hear me now? Staff–parent communication in child care centres

Supporting the growth and development of young children through effective communication with parents is one of the greatest challenges of the twenty‐first century facing early childhood and special educators. This article examines adult communication in child care centres through data gathered via a mixed‐method study of child care directors’ perspectives on parent education and their actual practices and a one‐year‐long ethnographic study of relationships between mothers and teachers in an ethnically and economically diverse child care centre. Findings show that practicing ongoing dialogue between child care centre personnel and parents presents multiple opportunities for clarification which support the current NAEYC and CEC standards requiring collaboration with families. Yet, the analysis suggests that the fields of early childhood education and special education need to focus more on the process of how information is provided and conveyed to, received by, and accepted by/from families. Communication between staff and family can be viewed as a theoretical model that contains three primary components: (1) The communication process is ongoing and continuous; (2) there is open, bi‐directional communication; and (3) support of parents is provided through education.     

Emotions matter: the moderating role of emotional labour on preschool teacher and children interactions

ABSTRACT

Teachers’ emotions in the classroom shape their ability to nurture positive relationships with young children. There is increasing interest in understanding how teachers manage and express their emotions on the job through the use of emotional labour, or the deliberate expression or suppression of emotions to achieve organizational goals. This study investigates how preschool teachers’ emotional labour informs their interactions with young children. Using quantitative survey and observation data from 123 preschool teachers, we found that preschool teachers’ use of emotional labour, particularly surface and deep acting, and their limited perceptions of emotional display rules were linked to the quality of their interactions with young children. Also, the associations between emotional labour and teacher–child interactions were moderated by their perceptions of emotional display rules. Findings have implications for early childhood care and education policy and practice, as well as future research related to the emotional aspects of preschool teachers’ work.     

Kindergarten teachers' views about the importance of preschoolers' participation in sports in Singapore

Children's involvement in sports develops their diverse lifelong skills in the physical (a positive attitude toward healthy lifestyle), cognitive, emotional and social domains. Children enjoy a day out in the open, enjoying the free space, the wind in their hair, the smells that stimulate their senses, the touch of different and new things to be discovered in an enriched outdoor environment. Central to the success of promoting preschooler involvement in sports are the roles that teachers and kindergartens play. This study investigated the views of teachers and preschooler participation in sport; the teachers' views of their kindergartens, the community, parents in relation to preschoolers' participation in sports. In addition, the study also questioned teacher's awareness and use of available resources in their kindergartens and the community. The results showed that, in general, teachers, the kindergartens, children's parents and the community are supportive of preschoolers' participation in sports. There appears, however, to be a lack of kindergarten teacher awareness and usage of resources within the community. Promoting preschooler involvement in sports involving multiple levels of organization and clear communication between sports agencies and local kindergartens are recommended.     

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.     

A Closer Look at Teacher–Child Relationships and Classroom Emotional Context in Preschool

Background

Children’s early classroom experiences, particularly their interpersonal interactions with teachers, have implications for their academic achievement and classroom behavior. Teacher–child relationships and classroom interactions are both important aspects of children’s early classroom experiences, but they are not typically considered together in studies of early childhood classrooms. The bioecological model suggests that both uniquely impact children’s development.

Objective

The objective of this study was to examine the joint impact of individual teacher–child relationships reported by the teacher and observed classroom interactions to identify associations between these and children’s outcomes.

Methods

Using the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study—Birth cohort, multiple regression was employed to test the hypothesis that teacher–child relationships and classroom interactions are uniquely related to children’s classroom behavior and academic achievement. Further, a moderation model was tested to examine the moderating impact of teacher–child relationships on the association between classroom interactions and children’s outcomes.

Results

Teacher–child relationships were related to children’s concurrent academic achievement and classroom behavior, and to children’s classroom behavior assessed one year later. No main effects of classroom interactions were identified; however, teacher–child relationships moderated the associations between classroom interactions and children’s preschool classroom behavior.

Conclusions

Findings suggest that teacher–child relationships are important for children’s development in classrooms, even after accounting for classroom interactions. Professional development for teachers and measurement in classroom research should address teacher–child relationships in addition to classroom interactions.

     

Early reading: A developmental psycholinguistic approach

The study assessed the nature of teacher–child interactions in early childhood classrooms in India, from the teachers' and parents' perspectives. Specifically, the impact of teacher training, satisfaction with training and job, years of experience, and class size on the teacher–child interactions were examined. Sixty‐five preschool teachers and 173 parents from an urban city in India comprised the total sample. Results using teacher reports indicated that the findings were not significant. According to parent reports, 25% of variance was accounted. Amount of experience showed a trend towards significance. Satisfaction with training of teachers inversely impacted the nature of teacher–child interactions. These findings suggested the interplay of specific factors such as limited space, finances and cultural notions of teaching/education, and adult–child relations on the perceptions of early childhood teachers and parents on teacher–child interactions in an Indian Context.     

Digital technologies in early childhood education – a frame analysis of preservice teachers’ perceptions

Research on early childhood teachers’ perceptions of technology integration has been criticized for not paying enough attention to the unique pedagogical characteristics of early childhood education. This qualitative study contributes to resolving this need by scrutinizing preservice teachers’ perceptions of technology usage through the frames of education, socialization, and care, which form a harmonious whole referred to as the EDUCARE approach. The findings suggest that an individual preservice teacher can be for or against technology usage depending on the frame they reflect on technology integration through. Children’s ages and participants’ beliefs about the children’s access to technology at home were the most significant factors behind the variation in dynamics between and within the frames. The implications for future research are also discussed.