Early Childhood Teacher Education Programs Research Articles

Designing and Implementing Sustainable Professional Development Programs: Embodied Curriculum and Instruction for Kindergarten Teachers

Embodied design is a theory-to-practice and pedagogical framework and emphasizes the role of embodied and situated activity. Since embodiment has a powerful impact on young children’s learning, implementing embodied deign in kindergartens is essential and beneficial to their future mathematical learning and performance. Therefore, this qualitative study aimed to develop a professional learning community composed of eight kindergarten teachers and university teacher educators (researchers) and to co-construct a professional development model for curriculum design and instructional implementation of embodied design in mathematics. Accordingly, the main research objectives were to obtain a sustainable professional development model and summarize principles of embodied mathematics curriculum design and strategies for embodied instructional activities, which can be used both in practical settings (i.e., kindergarten and preschool) and early childhood teacher education programs in higher education. Data were gathered through participative observations, including PD meetings and classroom observations, in-depth and follow-up interviews, teachers’ lesson design and reflection notes, and children’s learning profiles, and then were analyzed qualitatively using a descriptive and explanatory approach with replication logic. Based on the data collection and analysis, two major sections of the findings and discussion were included in this report, which were as follows: first, a sustainable “task design professional development model” was generated for collaboratively future improvements of both in-service and pre-service teacher training programs in higher education; second, two principles of embodied mathematics curriculum design and two effective embodied teaching strategies were proposed to promote kindergarten teachers’ professional knowledge and capabilities and their young children’s mathematics learning capabilities.

Preparing Inclusive Early Childhood Educators (PIECE): A conceptualization of multilingualism, English learning, and inclusivity

AbstractThe purpose of this article is to share the examination of inclusivity as a paradigm for fostering authenticity and agency (Moore, 2017) among teacher candidates. This framing challenges the notion of inclusion as a tool of meritocracy used to manage learners through expectations that uphold monolingualism, decenter racial histories, and rely on rigid behavior plans. In this work, the authors interrogate the impact inclusion as assimilation has on English learners' authentic ways of knowing and being. Thus, they present a conceptualization of spaces of difference (Agbenyaga & Klibthong, 2012) within the context of an Inclusive Early Childhood Teacher Education (IECTE) program and the objectives of the Preparing Inclusive Early Childhood Educators (PIECE) project. With its rigorous coursework, clinical experiences, multi‐tiered mentorship, and practice‐based professional development, the PIECE project aims to develop inclusive early childhood educators at the preservice and in‐service levels. Infused throughout the PIECE project is an emphasis on cultivating the knowledge and skills needed to provide high‐quality instruction that improves educational outcomes for English learners (ELs). Frameworks of transformative theory and intersectionality perspectives provided the authors with a grounding for the work within the PIECE project community of learners (i.e., teacher candidates, teacher educators, and school district partners). This article summarizes critical concepts of inclusivity centered in the PIECE project work. These concepts include (1) understanding oneself to look beyond; (2) disrupting notions of normalcy and naturalized language; and (3) reconceptualizing inclusivity as a social justice act.

Examination of Quality Implementation Management for Institutions with Accreditation: An Analysis Study

Examination of Quality Implementation Management for Institutions with Accreditation: An Analysis Study

Early Childhood Teacher Education Students’ Online Learning Readiness and Course Satisfaction: Best Service from the Indonesian Open University

Comprehensive online learning has been implemented in Indonesia, particularly in universities, in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Universitas Terbuka is considered the most prepared institution for distance learning because it equips students with technology skills for education. Student satisfaction with learning is affected by the transition from traditional face-to-face instruction to online learning. Therefore, a survey was conducted to enhance the learning quality for students at Universitas Terbuka. This research aims to establish the relationship between online learning readiness and satisfaction with online courses among students enrolled in the Early Childhood Teacher Education program. This quantitative study employed a survey design with Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) analysis involving 286 participants. The results of PLS-SEM indicate that satisfaction with online courses is significantly influenced by several factors. Learning motivation (0.265) emerges as the most important predictor of online course satisfaction, followed by student control (0.257), computer/internet self-efficacy (0.210), online communication self-efficacy (0.159), and the independent learning factor (0.114). This information ensures that Universitas Terbuka Indonesia’s excellent services have helped distance students become better prepared for online learning and have supported the university in formulating strategic goals to achieve the highest quality of education.

The arts in early childhood teacher education in China: a question of curriculum balance

ABSTRACT Art education is important for young children, yet the place of the arts in early childhood teacher education (ECTE) has been an unresolved issue. Framed within the conception of curriculum balance, the study aimed to navigate and make sense of the diverse perspectives on how early childhood pre-service teachers should be taught the arts. In the context of ECTE in China, qualitative data were collected from 10 early childhood teacher educators from six universities, 16 early childhood in-service teachers from 11 kindergartens, and four groups of pre-service teachers from four ECTE programmes. Reflexive thematic analysis generated a multi-continuum model that illustrates multi-faceted and gradational curriculum balance in terms of the place of the arts in ECTE.

유아교사교육과정에서의 인공지능 관련 교과목 개설현황 및 현직교사의 경험

Objectives This study analyzed the current status of AI-related curriculum offered in early childhood teacher edu-cation programs and explored the experiments of current teachers regarding AI education.
 Methods To achieve this, the study analyzed the websites of 61 universities with departments of early childhood education that had established AI-related curriculum, frequency and percentages were calculated. Additionally, in-depth interviews were conducted with seven current teachers who had experience with AI education, using a qualitative data analysis approach to examine their experiences.
 Results The results of the study are as follows: Firstly, in terms of the current status of AI-related curriculum in early childhood teacher education programs, 49 courses were offered in four-year universities, and 45 courses were offered in three-year(or two-year) colleges. Both four-year universities and three-year(or two-year) col-leges offered the highest number of courses in the first semester of the first year. While four-year universities offered courses with major studies worth three credits, three-year(or two-year) colleges had more courses with general education worth two credits. Secondly, from the perspective of current teachers' experiences with AI ed-ucation, the study identified how current teachers get rid of a sense of vague apprehension, anxiety and negative perceptions, and specified the experiences of engaging with AI education through play.
 Conclusions This study contributes foundational data for the implementation of AI education in pre-service early childhood teacher education programs.

Partners for quality: building professional pathways for diverse adult learners in early childhood education

PurposeThis paper describes the rationale and key aspects of how one school-university partnership leveraged resources to create, implement and refine an innovative professional pathway called the Early Childhood Certificate (ECC) program which reflects the National Professional Development Schools (NAPDS) Essential Guideline 4: Reflection and Innovation. The ECC program is an innovative, career-building model that leverages resources between a predominantly white regional state university, a nonprofit organization serving as a Head Start grantee, a large urban school district and community-based education settings across a Midwestern metropolitan region.Design/methodology/approachThis descriptive narrative documents how the ECC program developed as a professional pathway for early childhood educators to scale up their skills for teaching young children while strengthening their capacities and credentials within the early childhood education (ECE) profession pipeline. The narrative includes relevant literature and examples from the field.FindingsThis paper includes a discussion of the benefits and challenges related to the design, implementation and refinement of the professional learning ECC program.Research limitations/implicationsThis is a descriptive narrative. As such, generalizability is lacking. Research is needed to determine the effectiveness and sustainability of innovative teacher education programs.Practical implicationsRelevant research and lessons learned provide guidance for other school–university partnerships to consider how to meet workforce and career needs for educators in the field of ECE.Social implicationsSchool–university partnerships can be change agents and positively impact early childhood educators' career development.Originality/valueThis paper addresses the need for understanding how predominantly white early childhood teacher education programs can partner with schools and agencies and then together leverage resources to support workforce and career development opportunities.

Initiatives supporting student retention in early childhood teacher education qualifications

This paper describes a case study using quantitative and qualitative approaches to investigate student engagement and retention within an online early childhood teacher education program at a regional Australian university. Two key interventions, the identification and support of disengaged students and the Embedded Tutors Program are described and examined. Initial findings on these retention initiatives, developed to support Early Childhood Education undergraduates studying in the online environment, are presented. Additionally, discussion of the findings through the theory of practice architectures highlights the practices and institutional arrangements that create the conditions to support student retention. This study is significant in planning for Early Childhood Education workforce quality and supply. It may offer guidance to institutions for their retention practices with early childhood teacher undergraduates studying in the online environment.

Early childhood preservice teachers’ beliefs of creativity, creative individuals and creative environment: Perspectives from China

This qualitative study employs a phenomenological approach to comprehensively investigate the beliefs of early childhood preservice teachers (PTs) in China regarding creativity, creative individuals (children and teachers), and the creative learning environment. Data was collected through semi-structured in-depth interviews with 13 PTs. The findings suggest PTs exhibit limited understanding regarding the concept of creativity, which consequently affects their beliefs of creative individuals. PTs perceive both general personal characteristics and specific capacities relevant to the ECE context. However, motivation-related traits were not identified by PTs. Three themes concerning PTs’ beliefs about the creative environment emerged. PTs demonstrate positive attitudes toward fostering creativity in the ECE context, and they perceive multiple strategies of creative pedagogy. However, a gap exists between PTs’ attitudes valuing creativity and their actual pedagogical practice. The reasons contributing to the gap were discussed in the study. The findings have important implications for early childhood teacher education programs.

“Homegrown” Latinx educator pathways: the challenges and possibilities for early childhood teacher education

ABSTRACTThis study highlights a critical case that can serve as a programmatic and conceptual model for institutional partnerships seeking to diversify the early childhood education (ECE) teaching profession with “homegrown” Latinx teachers. The case study explored the experiences of Latinx students in an ECE program at a regional, public 4-year university who participated in a Grow Your Own (GYO) program at their high schools and/or local community college. The student-centered qualitative case study addressed: What obstacles have GYO Latinx teacher candidates experienced as they transferred to a 4-year university teacher education program? What can we learn about how they made sense of and responded to these challenges for improving the way in which early childhood teacher education programs might extend and transform GYO initiatives at the university level to support the retention and continued success of Latinx teacher candidates? Using a combination of interviews and focus groups, and Latinx Critical Theory, this study demonstrated that once at the university, GYO Latinx students struggled with increased financial strain, entrance requirements into teacher education, and commuting. Stressed across the interviews was the importance of building a critical learning community, in which relationships could be nurtured in culturally sustaining and place-based ways.

영유아교사의 정서저널쓰기 경험의 변화과정과 의미 탐색

Objectives The purposes of this study were to explore the changes of teacher’s experiences writing reflective emotion journals and the meaning of it in the contexts of early childhood education and care.
 Methods In this qualitative study, nine early childhood teachers participated in a course of the graduate school during 15 weeks, and at this time they submitted 10 journals and participated in the group discussion, group interviews.
 Results Two major themes along with multiple sub-themes were identifies including: First, the teacher's emotional journal writing experience changed from ‘unfamiliarity, difficult start’ to write down with focusing on the teacher's emotions in early childhood education to ‘objectively facing one's emotions,’ ‘discovering positive emotions, savoring them’, ‘viewing the classroom space as a living world’, and ‘considering teacher emotion in detail’. Second, the meaning of the experience of writing emotional journals to teachers can be summarized as ‘the journey to get to know me’, ‘time to empathize and comfort’, ‘the process of transferring the virtuous cycle’, and ‘time of growth’.
 Conclusions In conclusion, It is expected that it will be possible to find ways to support teachers' healthy emotional experiences in the early childhood education field while awakening the importance of teacher emotions in the early childhood teacher education program and presenting directions in terms of applying the value and meaning of teachers' emotional journal writing.

Online Early Childhood Teacher Education Program: Practices and Future Possibilities

Online Early Childhood Teacher Education Program: Practices and Future Possibilities

Learning with place as a catalyst for action

ABSTRACT In response to dominant discourses of quality and an over-reliance on humancentric practice, the Learning with Place framework emerges as an innovative way to rethink practices, structures, and policies within education and beyond. ‘Learning with Place’ views the local Place as agentic, recognising Place as inclusive of local First Nations knowledges and stories, histories and the more-than-human (for example, landforms, waterways, animals, insects, flora, and fauna). Through ‘Learning with Place’, deep relationships with the local Place are generated and these relationships become the catalyst for actions and decision-making regarding caring for/with local Place. This article offers an example of ‘Learning with Place’ in action through an early childhood teacher education program and shares ways in which the framework can be utilised in multiple contexts and disciplines.

Analysis of Student Engagement: ECE Educators Teaching Skills Strengthening Courses in Distance Education

Early childhood teacher education programs must figure out how to effectively educate the workforce as classrooms become more diverse due to children varied cultural backgrounds and skills. This study aims to analyse student involvement in the Strengthening of Early Childhood Educators Teaching Skills course in distance education. The research method used is descriptive qualitative. The research participants were 405 students of the Department of Early Childhood Education, consisting of 90% women aged between 20-55 years and an average age of 31 years. The research findings show that at the level of academic challenge, most students agree that the ECE Educators Teaching Skills Strengthening (TSS) course brings new ideas and certain experiences and is very helpful in applying theory or concepts to practical problems. Indicators of active/collaborative learning indicate that hands-on experiences help students work more effectively with others. Meanwhile, the student-faculty interaction component shows that they have carried out two-way discussions regarding material assessment and practice. Additionally, online tutorials have provided quick feedback on assignments and guidance in compiling practice reports. The student learning experience is greatly helped by the TSS course. Students acquire new knowledge and skills to support their profession as teachers.
 Keywords: early childhood educators, engagement, teaching skill, distance education

A Qualitative Case Study on the Experiences of Korean Early Childhood Teacher Educators Enacting Multicultural Social Justice Education in the U.S. -Focusing on Their Dilemmas-

Purpose: This study examined three novice Korean teacher educators’ multicultural social justice teaching experiences who work in an early childhood teacher education program in the United States. An understanding of the participants’ teacher educating practices from a phenomenological perspective is presented. Methods: Three semi-structured interviews with each participant were conducted, which were guided by Seidman’s three-interview series. Results: The research found that all three participants demonstrated a strong belief that notions of multicultural social justice should be incorporated into all classrooms. However, they shared a timid approach rather than proactively creating a space for addressing structural inequities. This was understood to be related to the participants being situated in multilayered dilemmas. Conclusion: Conceptual, pedagogical, cultural, and political dilemmas encountered by the participants were delineated and practical suggestions for supporting teacher educators in delivering multicultural social justice teaching at an institutional level are detailed.

Effective teaching strategies: Pre-service teachers’ experiences in team taught courses in an interdisciplinary Early Childhood teacher education program

Teacher preparation programs support the development of effective early childhood (EC) teachers through multiple methods. Team teaching is one approach that may facilitate students’ learning and understanding. The current study collected data from 55 pre-service teachers to examine their perspectives on their experiences in team taught courses in an interdisciplinary EC program. A qualitative and quantitative approach was used to analyze survey items so that data from both close-ended and open-ended questions contribute to the findings about practices being modeled and benefits and challenges in team taught classes. Strategies to support this instructional approach in teacher preparation programs are discussed.

Similar Impact, Different Readiness: A Comparative Study of the Impact of COVID-19 on ECTE Practice

COVID-19 lockdowns forced universities to deliver classes wholly online, resulting in various impacts on higher teacher education institutions (TEIs) that were differently prepared for such a change. However, few studies have explored the impact of the pandemic on the shift of early childhood teacher education programs to online delivery, especially from a cross-national comparative perspective. To address this gap, this study compared how early childhood teacher educators (ECTEs) in one Australian and one Chinese TEI viewed and coped with the challenges caused by online teaching during the lockdowns. A total of 14 ECTEs participated in this triangulated qualitative study: six from the Australian TEI and eight from the Chinese TEI. Thematic analysis was used to analyze the research data. The results indicated that the Australian ECTEs were better prepared for online education than their Chinese counterparts regarding proficiency and advance in using online teaching platforms, trying different kinds of teaching styles, and their online teaching skills, literacy, and competence. However, the coded data showed that the participant Australian and Chinese ECTEs shared similar views on the negative impact of the change, such as producing ineffective interaction, broken social-emotional connections, heavier workloads, and drained staff. The findings suggest that TEIs from Australia and China need to develop contextually appropriate strategies and innovative solutions to cope with the lockdown challenges.

Tensions as opportunities for transformation: Applying DisCrit Resistance to early childhood teacher education programs

Efforts to “professionalize” early childhood through professional standards, licensure requirements, and standardized assessments have aimed to support effective practice and rectify the pay inequities experienced by early educators. However, such initiatives can inadvertently reinforce hegemonic developmentalism and have largely served to advance white, able-bodied norms and narrow views of teaching and learning. Teacher educators endeavoring to combat racism and ableism, therefore, can encounter several tensions that result from trying to apply critical perspectives while preparing pre-service teachers for graduation and certification in the current personnel preparation landscape. In this article, the authors employ Disability Critical Race Theory (DisCrit) Resistance to explore these tensions and offer potential ways they can serve as key opportunities for supporting equity. They discuss how teacher educators can enact DisCrit Curriculum, Pedagogy, and Solidarity to diversify the knowledge(s) that are represented in content; center and affirm the identities and gifts of multiply marginalized teachers of color; and disrupt power hierarchies to honor relationships and interdependence.

‘We’re just touching the surface’: Australian university lecturers’ experiences of teaching theories of child development in early childhood teacher education programs

ABSTRACT Three Australian Government reports released between 2011 and 2017 highlight a child development theory–practice gap in Australian early childhood initial teacher education. This qualitative study explores what informs university lecturers’ teaching of child development theory in tertiary programmes. Grounded in Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis, four themes are discussed from a Freirean inspired perspective. According to those interviewed, institutional culture and the practice focus of regulatory bodies strongly informs the teaching of child development with systemic practices often experienced as oppressive. The minimisation of early childhood content in combined early childhood/primary degrees also informed practice, but fostered a sense of marginalisation for many. Liberation was also evident as participants indicated that, despite many challenges, professional values, including commitment, tenacity and respect, informed their teaching practice. Implications for Australian universities and regulatory bodies are discussed with findings serving as a case example with international applicability to tertiary education policy and practice review.

The Design of Early Childhood Teacher Education Programs: Australian Employer Perspectives with International Program Comparisons

Provision of quality early childhood education and care (ECEC) supports children’s learning with strong agreement that early childhood teachers (ECTs) are central to quality provision. In many countries, it is mandatory that ECEC services employ ECTs. However, Australian ECT employers report that early childhood graduates are not always well-prepared to work in ECEC settings. This may be because what constitutes optimal early childhood initial teacher education programs (EC ITE) is unclear. To investigate the design of EC ITE programs this research reports on (i) design of EC ITE programs across international contexts; and (ii) 19 Australian ECT employers’ perspectives on EC ITE program design. Findings indicate little consensus on the design of EC ITE programs, with inconsistencies across and within countries. Australian employers identified shortcomings in graduates knowledge. This research highlights recommendations to understand how programs prepare ECTs, by conducting research tracking preservice teachers from EC ITE programs into ECEC teaching.