The field of publicly funded early childhood education continues to evolve into a discipline in which early educators are expected to teach a more culturally and linguistically diverse student population a standardized set of knowledge and skills so that they can meet policymakers' academic achievement requirements. This creates a range of…

Researchers have emphasized the role of the teacher-child relationship on children's adjustment. Children lacking such positive relationships are placed at increased risk for emotional and behavioral difficulties (EBD). We propose a qualitative approach to exploring Romanian teachers' knowledge and strategies related to preschoolers who…

This qualitative case study explored how early childhood teachers' beliefs and practices influence the function of preschool outdoor play. Teachers believed that supervision was paramount. They perceived that the physical design of the outdoor environment posed limitations for planning, preparation, and implementation. Teachers'…

Professional development (PD) for early childhood educators has received increased attention as a means of bolstering young children's learning and development. Theory and research indicate that educators' characteristics play roles in both their own learning and that of children; however, little research has explored who participates in…

This study compared Chinese kindergarten teachers' values and perceptions of program quality with trained raters' assessments of quality in order to gain insights into effective professional development for improving teacher quality. A total of 284 Chinese kindergarten teachers self-assessed the quality of their classroom teaching and…

Technology has been shown to foster children's motivation and interest in instructional materials. In addition, researchers have found that technology results in higher levels of student engagement and greater levels of comprehension. Researchers have also found that educators must have the knowledge and skills in technology necessary to…

This qualitative study was conducted in the context of a preservice teacher education program with a focus on early literacy. The study focused on the insights preservice teachers gained from working closely beside one emergent writer. The authors report on six focus cases and identify five cross-case themes--describing preservice teachers who (a)…

The current study evaluated the peer-to-peer interactions of at-risk children enrolled in Head Start who participated in a social pragmatic intervention targeting skills such as initiations, responses, name use, proximity, and turn-taking skills. Eight Head Start classroom teams received two workshops and two coaching sessions and were taught to…

In this article we explore an effort to rethink curricular decision-making with a group of public pre-K teachers working in a context of curriculum escalation and commitment to play-based pedagogy. Through a professional development program designed to support developmentally and culturally responsive early mathematics, we examine how teachers…

Recent surveys have provided some guidance and recommendations for the student teaching component in early childhood teacher preparation, but specific information on the focus of supervision and evaluation of student teachers is limited. The current study surveyed 128 early childhood programs in 2- and 4-year institutions of higher education…

Beginning teaching is challenging; this article examines the realities of practice for beginning early childhood teachers. Fourteen participants in their first year of teaching were interviewed; they worked in private and public early childhood education settings. Findings reveal that the reality of moving from the role of the student to teacher…

This research examined preservice early childhood educators' perceptions of outdoor settings and their intentions to use outdoor settings in their teaching practice. Students enrolled in an early childhood education program (n = 110) at a university in the Great Lakes region completed surveys that assessed perceptions of natural settings,…

The field of early care and education has been challenged to raise the level of quality for young children by increasing the number of practitioners with college degrees. The purpose of this study was to explore the perceptions of early care and education professionals working in the field and enrolled in community college early childhood classes,…

This study investigated the influence of professional development on 20 preschool teachers' use of instructional conversations in classrooms for 2- to 5-year-old children. Instructional conversation is a small group discussion that builds on children's prior knowledge to assess and assist conceptual understanding. Over a 3-year period, the…

This study explored whether or not, and how, an on-site and research-teacher community of practice model for professional development addressed the challenges to classroom practices in a Head Start program. Data sources included interviews with teachers, videos of planning and teaching sessions, and the researchers' fieldwork log and…