Early Childhood Teacher Education Programs Research Articles

Beginning Early Childhood Teachers’ Reflections on Their Student Teaching Experiences

Student teaching experiences in teacher education programs hold a crucial part since they provide teacher candidates with practical experience before they enter the profession. This study inquires the role of split student teaching employed in early childhood teacher education program at a southwestern U.S. state universityon experiences of beginning teachers’ who graduated from this program. In this qualitative research, participants’ reflections to their field experiences in the program were gathered through two in-depth individual interviews and one focus group interview. An analysis of interview data revealed that beginning teachers’ student teaching experiences partially fulfilled their need of having adequate in-classroom experience before starting their teaching careers; yet they highlighted some suggestions for student teaching assignments to better prepare prospective teacher candidates in the program.The length and timing of student teaching has also emerged as an important result of this study.Furthermore, participants highlighted the role and importance of mentor-teachers during their student teaching.

Going back to school: the perceived value of the bachelor’s degree for early childhood practitioners

ABSTRACT This qualitative interview-based study examined the perceptions of 17 diverse, mainly non-traditional age early childhood practitioners enrolled in a 2 + 2 Bachelor of Applied Science degree completion program focused on children birth to age five, as to the perceived influence of program on them personally and professionally. The theories of Self-Efficacy and Possible Selves comprised the theoretical frameworks. Data were analyzed using Grounded Theory and Constant Comparative Analysis. Key themes focused on the knowledge, confidence, credibility, professionalism, and opportunity practitioners gained from the degree program. Results demonstrated that the degree had both perceived personal and professional value for these early childhood practitioners, which may have potential implications for their current and future practice, as well as for early childhood teacher education programs preparing to serve students such as these.

Kindergarten teachers’ knowledge level of developmentally appropriate practice in Jordan

ABSTRACT The researchers conducting this study explored kindergarten teachers’ knowledge level of developmentally appropriate practice (DAP) in early years settings in Jordan. Data were collected from 180 kindergarten teachers working in Amman Governorate. A 37-item questionnaire was designed to reflect the concepts of DAP as presented in the National Association for the Education of Young Children guidelines. Results indicated that participating kindergarten teachers reported high knowledge level of DAP. Moreover, the results revealed statistically significant differences among kindergarten teachers based on some study variables; kindergarten teachers with specialisation related to early childhood education and with high academic qualification demonstrated a higher level of DAP than their counterparts without. Implications are also offered: they include developing early childhood teacher education programmes to emphasise DAP in pre-and in-service teacher education programmes.

Okul öncesi öğretmen adaylarının bebeklik döneminde kurum temelli eğitime ilişkin görüşleri

Okul öncesi eğitim doğumdan başlayan ve temel eğitimin başlamasına kadar devam eden bir eğitim sürecidir. Türkiye’de ise kamu alanında çalışan okul öncesi öğretmenleri çoğunlukla 36-72 aylık çocuklarla çalışmakta, öğretmen yetiştirme programları da öğretmen adaylarını daha çok bu yaş grubu ile çalışmaya hazırlamaktadır. 0-36 aylık çocuklara eğitim veren kurumlarda çalışması öncelikli gruplardan biri de okul öncesi öğretmenliğinden mezun olan bireylerdir. Ancak ilgili alan yazını, okul öncesi öğretmen ve öğretmen adaylarının bu kurumlarda çalışmaya yönelik ne düşündüğüne dair neredeyse hiçbir bilgi sunmamaktadır. Mevcut araştırmanın amacı okul öncesi öğretmen adaylarının bebeklik döneminde kurum temelli eğitime yönelik görüşlerini betimlemek ve bu görüşlerin farklı yıllarda son sınıfta okuyan öğretmen adayları arasında değişip değişmediğini ortaya koymaktır. Bu amaç doğrultusunda çalışmanın verileri farklı yıllarda okul öncesi öğretmenliği programının son sınıfında okuyan 120 öğretmen adayından yazılı görüşme formu aracılığı ile toplanmıştır. Veriler nitel içerik analizi metodu ile analiz edilmiştir. Bulgular öğretmen yetiştirme programları, genel uygulamalar ve sosyal politikalar bağlamında eleştirel bir gözle tartışılmıştır.

Desires and doubts on cultural sustainability: A study from Aotearoa New Zealand

The original research project of this study was aimed to find out the components of culture and their impacts on ako (teaching-learning) within the early childhood teacher education programmes. Ethics Approval was obtained from AUT Ethics Committee. Under a socio-cultural theoretical framework, twelve lecturers from three Tertiary Education Organisations (TEOs) were interviewed. Three cohorts of student teachers from the same TEOs participated in focus groups. Using manual thematic coding, nine broad areas of cultural components were identified. These were bicultural contexts of Aotearoa, ethnicities and multi-culturalism, individual identities, cross-cultural interactions, comfort zone, female majority, socio-economic struggles, spirituality and technology. A recently developed framework for cultural sustainability (Soini and Dessein, 2016) were applied to these areas. Some of these components were identified as more inert and less dynamic, while the rest were recognised at the other end of the framework.The data and the principle findings were contextual to Aotearoa New Zealand. However, the discussion considered the overall global trends in relation to education.Keywords: Cultural diversity, cultural sustainability,

Revisiting reflective practice in an era of teacher education reform: A self-study of an early childhood teacher education program

ABSTRACTThe authors describe a major program reform study of an early childhood teacher education program in a large, urban, state university in the United States. Over a 4-year period, our team of early childhood faculty undertook an intentional and reflective program reform study to better advocate for quality early childhood educational philosophy and practice, while ensuring our program aligned with the newer national accreditation policy and state teacher certification standards. In this article, we identify three core problems we encountered, articulate how we approached each of them based on our philosophical framework, and discuss further considerations of each.

Service Learning and Early Childhood Education: Intersection of Developmentally Appropriate Practice and P.A.R.E.

ABSTRACTService learning (SL) is both a pedagogy and philosophy adopted by many early childhood teacher educators. Extant research suggests the incorporation of service-learning can be effective for facilitating preservice teacher learning of curriculum, pedagogy, approaches to diverse learners and families as well as establishing a professional identity. To guide the intentional adoption of SL and its assessment in early childhood teacher education programs, the authors present the Developmentally Appropriate Practice /P.A.R.E. model and illustrate how the model might be applied in a teacher education program. Challenges to incorporating service-learning in early childhood education programs and future areas of research are described.

(Re)thinking preservice teachers’ field experiences through a spatial lens

ABSTRACTSpace is not separable from the learning and teaching that take place in and through teacher education programs. In this paper, we attempt to illustrate how the use of a spatial lens in preservice teachers field placement can provide them with opportunities to raise questions and understand more about the relationships between self, the discursive construction of others, and taken-for-granted notions of learning and teaching. In helping preservice teachers’ critical reflections upon their spatial experience at their field sites, we specifically focus on “mapping” space as our approach to developing a critical embodied pedagogy. In particular, we highlight one White female preservice teacher’s spatial experience in a homeless shelter. We discuss the implications of developing pedagogical tools from the spatial perspective for early childhood teacher education programs.

An associational study on pre-service early childhood teachers’ nature relatedness in education for sustainability

There is significant global concern with current environmental problems, yet people’s behaviour towards the environment has been resistant to change. Young people have the opportunity to bring about desirable changes through environmental behaviours and attitudes. The goal of this study is to better understand the scope of nature relatedness as an attribution interacting with pro-environmental behaviours for Turkish pre-service early childhood teachers. We examined the associations between the domains representing nature relatedness and also sought to identify any differences in nature relatedness with respect to their year of enrolment in a teacher education program. The participants were 402 students attending an Early Childhood Teacher Education Program at one of the two public universities in the capital of Turkey. A Turkish-adapted version of the Nature Relatedness Scale developed by Nisbet, Zelenski, and Murphy was administered to gather the data. Participants were found to have a mostly positive external nature-related worldview. Furthermore, the statistical analysis indicated non-significant differences in their nature relatedness with respect to the year of enrolment in the teacher education program. In terms of the relationships between the constructs representing nature relatedness, the internalized identification with nature was positively correlated with two constructs which refer to his/her physical familiarity as well as attraction to nature, and how individual’s relationship with the environment is provoked by his/her behaviour. This research indicates that pre-service teachers, who are regarded as important agents for the future implementation of sustainability education, are actually lacking in their nature relatedness constructs and need to develop key competencies in a field that presupposes that they have already acquired sufficient experience of physical and emotional interaction with nature.

Changing Learning Ecologies in Early Childhood Teacher Education: From Technology to stem Learning

This review examines the design cycles of innovation in response to changing policy, technological and practical imperatives. It begins with the initial creation of an information and communication technology course in an early childhood teacher education program and describes its evolution into a contemporary topic. Program changes occur because of policy-driven trends, including the expansion of the definition of what constitutes technology and the incorporation of innovations into curricula and pedagogical practices. We characterize these changes in three design cycles. In the first cycle, courses to prepare preservice teachers for early childhood centers focused primarily on computer-based skills. In the second cycle, new technologies were integrated into the curricula and teaching programs and incorporated into the practicum. In the third cycle, the principles and practices inherent to science, technology, engineering and mathematics (stem) education were adopted to extend the role of new technologies in contemporary curricula and pedagogies. These new learning ecologies were characterized by the application of inter-disciplinary knowledge in authentic learning contexts. The reviewed case studies included students in three new technologies course projects in an early childhood teacher education program. The findings revealed that early childhood preservice teachers expected more opportunities to practice and apply new technologies in innovative learning spaces focused on stem learning. Furthermore, they believed that university teacher education courses should be applicable to practice-based contexts. The implications of this review inform the process of change in the design of teacher education programs from technology-based learning to the pedagogical innovations needed to prepare future teachers. It illustrates that new technologies for learning should consider changing learning ecologies in their design and implementation, and should support early childhood teachers in understanding and using child-centered pedagogical approaches.

Exploring early childhood teacher education: implications for policy and practice

This paper introduces a study that examined the difficulties faced in an early childhood teacher education program at one of the universities in Jordan. A qualitative research approach has been opted utilizing the in-depth interviewing and grounded theory methodology. The study revealed that the students faced different types of difficulties in academic and financial matters, status of early childhood education, and field training. Based on the study findings, there are some suggestions to policy makers and teacher educators and specialists that could contribute to the improvement and development of early childhood teacher education. It has been recommended that further research on teacher preparation, particularly concerning early childhood education programs, is essential. Moreover, cooperation and cross-cultural studies between early childhood education specialists from different countries are required to enhance the status and quality of early childhood education.

The Role of Relationships: An Exploratory Study of Early Childhood Educators Earning a Bachelor’s Degree

Professional standards increasingly call for early childhood educators to hold a bachelor’s degree as one measure of educator quality. This has prompted many educators to return to college, creating both a need and an opportunity to better understand the factors that support educators to complete their degree and apply what they learn to their teaching practice. This qualitative study examined the higher education experiences of early educators enrolled in a public urban university early childhood teacher education program. Using a theoretical lens grounded in relational theory, this study explored how relationships in the university and the workplace influenced educators’ progress toward degree completion and their application of learning into practice. Data included in-depth individual interviews with educators and their workplace supervisors. This study shows how positive relationships with university faculty, staff, peers, and workplace colleagues and supervisors can support educators as they work toward earning their bachelor’s degree. The results revealed four characteristics of these relationships that influenced educators, as well as key barriers and challenges. In particular, the findings show how several negative relational dynamics may act as a barrier to educators’ efforts to apply new learning in the workplace. The paper concludes with implications for research and practice, and calls for increased attention to the relational contexts in which educators pursue their degree and make improvements in their teaching practices.

Play meets early childhood teacher education

Recent policy changes connect play in early childhood education and care (ECEC) settings explicitly to learning, and to later school-learning outcomes, calling on early childhood (EC) educators to incorporate intentional teaching into their practice. Given these recent policy changes, the purpose of this propositional article is to raise awareness and promote discussion about the current place of play in initial early childhood teacher education programs in Australian universities and the vocational education and training (VET) sector. The article initiates dialogue by contributing a rhizomatically-informed analytical snapshot of publicly available information from course outlines and subject guides in EC initial teacher education (ITE) in 20 Australian universities and the VET sector. This rhizomatically-informed analytical snapshot showed that the word ‘play’ was absent or occurred at relatively low frequency in course and subject descriptive material. The least frequent occurrence was in materials from ITE degree-level courses. While the snapshot does not delve into the full course and subject content (and makes no claims to do so), the rhizomatic methodological approach used leads us to ask whether ‘play’ is being overlooked in the delivery of ITE and VET courses for ECE. Recent quality ratings of ECEC services in Australia support the idea that for beginning and experienced educators, the knowledge base may be less robust than assumed when it comes to combining intentional teaching with play-based learning and the achievement of child outcomes. At the very least, we propose that this warrants further investigation.

Exploring the identity formation process of teachers as a facilitator in early childhood teacher education program adopting action learning

Exploring the identity formation process of teachers as a facilitator in early childhood teacher education program adopting action learning

Scaffolding immigrant early childhood teacher education students toward the appropriation of pedagogical tools

ABSTRACTTeacher educators and field placement supervisors in early childhood teacher education (ECTE) programs aid their students in learning a specific repertoire of tools and skills, including pedagogical tools they can mobilize in their future practice. However, these tools reify abstract notions about how to teach young children that are consistent with the values and beliefs of the specific community of practice or culture, and culturally diverse students may ascribe different meanings and uses to the tools. This one-year ethnographic study explored how 20 immigrant and refugee students constructed understandings of the authoritative discourse during their coursework and field placements in an urban ECTE college program in western Canada. Qualitative data were collected through field notes, spatial mapping, interviews, focus groups, and artifacts/documents. Framed by sociocultural-historical theory, this paper focuses on the scaffolding methods used by teacher educators and expert peers to assist students in appropriating children’s picture books and songs as tools to use during their field placement experiences. The most effective of these scaffolding strategies used mediational devices to evoke recollections of each student’s experiences “back home,” thus advancing possibilities for more culturally resonant teacher education classes.

“My assets + their needs = my learning + their learning”: incorporating service learning into early childhood teacher education in South Korea

ABSTRACTThis study aims to expand dialogues on service learning and its applicability in early childhood (EC) teacher education programs. It consists of two parts: 1) self-studies of two courses and 2) students’ learning and difficulties from the courses. Each course was situated in different contexts and levels of EC teacher education programs in Seoul, South Korea, and the courses incorporated key elements of service learning into programs with different foci and strengths. Students in both courses reported that various course activities helped them discover a close link between their service and learning. Moreover, they shared three meaningful learning components: they could 1) encounter unfamiliar social issues and practice critical thinking, 2) acquire an in-depth understanding of young children and education, and 3) shift from passive to active learning. Yet, they also expressed a few specific difficulties and challenges. This study draws insights and lessons about the possibilities of incorporating service learning into EC teacher education programs; it also shows that key elements of service learning (authentic context, link to curriculum, reflection, and learning by doing) can be naturally integrated into courses within EC teacher education programs.

Global south approaches to bilingual and early childhood teacher education: Disrupting global north neoliberalism

Global south onto-epistemologies are rarely part of bilingual and early childhood teacher education programs. Most university courses, even those that are critically oriented, remain embedded in global north conceptualizations of theory and practice. In this paper, we offer critical examinations of how global north colonialism and its latest reiteration, neoliberalism, have produced hegemonic discourses which have shaped the education of teachers in the fields of bilingual and early childhood education. We then share our pláticas about our global south approaches to teacher education. In doing so, we offer ways in which to make sense of our role as teacher educators in challenging and navigating dynamic, and often all-encompassing neoliberal systems of oppression within bilingual and early childhood teacher/education.

Seeking justice through social action projects: Preparing teachers to be social actors in local and global problems

In this article, we share a social action process useful in teacher education and derived from a decade of practical experience with social action projects. Influences, theoretical underpinnings, and individual leadership in an early childhood teacher education program are considered alongside practical enactments of social action projects by preservice teachers in their licensure program. One particular type of field-based assignment, the social action project, is described and analyzed. An examination of program transformations expanding the social justice framework to include more global perspectives, such as the International Baccalaureate Primary Years Program, shaped and challenged our earlier notions of working to address isms to frame justice and advocate for children in larger social and educational networks. We suggest what social action should and can entail in teacher education for an interdependent world and offer a gradient of social action for justice in early childhood education practices and environments.

Seven Layers of Strength in a Model Early Childhood Teacher Preparation Program

ABSTRACTThe purpose of this qualitative study was to propose a framework for the types of practices and ideologies that the most successful clinical-based, early childhood teacher education programs use to prepare their preservice teachers for the profession. Grounded theory methods guided the collection and analysis of data. Participants included preservice teachers and faculty members from three model universities. The researcher collected data from semistructured interviews, open-ended surveys, and university documents. Data analysis resulted in a framework that explains clinical practice across model early childhood teacher preparation programs. Findings suggest that seven layers of strength contribute to the programs’ expertise in preparing their preservice teachers.

Unraveling Universalist Perspectives on Teaching and Caring for Infants and Toddlers: Finding Authenticity in Diverse Funds of Knowledge

ABSTRACTAlthough child-rearing beliefs and practices vary widely across cultures, a dominant discourse on how to teach and care for young children undergirds most early childhood teacher education programs. In this qualitative multicase study, the authors explored the ways that immigrant preservice teachers negotiated their emerging teacher identities across discontinuities between their own funds of knowledge and the theory and practice presented in their infant and toddler practicum course. Using a funds of identity framework, the authors drew on multiple data sources to examine how three immigrant students questioned, complicated, expanded on, connected, and/or denied their funds of knowledge as they redefined their professional sense of themselves as teachers. Findings indicate that creating a hybrid space within a teacher education practicum course allowed immigrant preservice teachers to comfortably bring their funds of knowledge, critically reflect on their own practice, and authentically develop their emerging teacher identities. Implications are discussed, focusing on the importance of understanding the impact and contribution of teachers’ personal knowledge, the fluidity of immigrant students’ thinking within a hybrid learning space, and the need for teacher education programs that openly invite and honor immigrant preservice teachers’ diverse funds of knowledge to help them find authenticity in teaching and learning.