Teacher education faculty are experiencing increasingly diverse higher education classrooms. In many ways, the diversities present in collegiate classrooms mirror the differences in classrooms of young children. The diversity may be a result of a range of ethnic, socioeconomic, and linguistic differences. Or it may be differences resulting from…

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,…

Underpaid and overworked, preschool teachers face multiple barriers in pursuing higher education. In the present study, we explored how logistical and financial barriers hinder early childhood education teachers and teacher's aides from taking college courses, as well as how academic self-concept and social support influence current…

It is essential that a solid research base be established to provide a foundation that will enable the field of early childhood teacher education to examine whether, for whom, and in what ways teacher education matters. The purpose of this article is to review several important domains in early childhood teacher education to illustrate the…

This article provides a conceptual base for pedagogy that embraces and incorporates the assets of nontraditional students in higher education and advocates for practice that honors and builds on students' cultural and social capital. It describes the challenges and opportunities faced by nontraditional students within institutions of higher…

Repeated calls have recently arisen for increasing the educational level of early childhood teachers in all early care and education settings including classrooms for infants and toddlers. Since the majority of teachers in early child settings do not have a college degree, higher educational expectations could place a strain on early childhood…

Empirical studies of early childhood educators' experiences with learning and implementing positive guidance skills are absent from the extant literature. This study explored this topic with 63 junior and senior level university students who were involved in concurrent instructional lecture and practicum experiences. Participants defined "positive…

In the last two decades, a myriad of political and social factors have converged and had a dramatic impact on Early Childhood Education (EC) and Early Childhood Special Education (ECSE). There have been sweeping changes in policy and shifts in society that have resulted in greater numbers of programs serving young children of all abilities and…

It is difficult for teacher candidates (university preservice teachers) to accept and use an innovative teaching method or strategy if they do not have an opportunity to actually engage in using the method or see it modeled in an early childhood classroom. Teacher candidates used Project Approach to learn about multicultural education. Their own…

This study describes the development of a parent resource center at a university child care center. The parent resource center is funded by a federal grant and is designed to provide support to low-income student-parents on campus. Early childhood education interns work in the center to learn how to build family relationships. The program has been…

This qualitative study was intended to explore the roles that an early childhood instructor undertook in a virtual learning environment. Throughout three consecutive semesters, multiple forms of data collection techniques were employed, including: field notes, teacher-student online interaction, the course design, students' online submissions,…

This article describes how a preservice early childhood program collaborates with a local agency in a community engagement project. The project was implemented in a family-community partnership class for preservice teachers. There were three purposes for this project. First, to build a partnership between the University of Alaska Anchorage…

How does a university teacher education program stay afloat in a continuous sea of change? The purpose of this paper is to exemplify a university early childhood studies program revision experience. It identifies internal motivational change forces, such as personnel and cultural change, and external forces, such as federal mandates, best…

This paper reports the findings of a study that examined changes in interns' culturally and family-responsive dispositions over the course of a 2-year early childhood teacher preparation program that prepares teachers who are willing and able to work with culturally, linguistically, and ability-diverse young children and their families.…

Documentation of children's projects is advantageous to their learning process and is also a good method for student teachers to observe the process of learning. Documentation panels are a unique way to help student teachers understand how children learn. Completing a panel requires a student teacher to think through a process. Teachers must learn…