Toward a New Way of Learning — Promoting Inquiry and Reflection in Palestinian Early Childhood Teacher Education

Abstract

The article describes the integration of inquiry, reflective practice, and child-centered teaching approaches in preservice teacher education at the early childhood level. The article reviews relevant literature on the forms and functions of inquiry and reflection as a form of professional development and teacher learning and also describes the current state of Palestinian teacher education and early childhood teaching and learning. The article then describes the preservice program at Al-Quds University in Abu Dis, the West Bank (Palestine) for students pursuing a BA in early childhood education and highlights the program's emphasis on child-centered, discovery-based teaching and learning. To illustrate how the Al-Quds program emphasizes reflection and inquiry at the preservice level, the article presents examples of the student teachers' projects, perspectives, and experiences in implementing an inquiry-based approach to teaching. Taken as whole, the article helps crystallize key issues and advances in teacher education in the West Bank (Palestine) and contributes to the growing awareness in teacher education at the global level of the professional and research benefits of cross-cultural and cross-border dialogue and exchange