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…

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…

Professional development, which results in sustained transformative change, requires that teachers engage in critical reflection regarding teaching practices. In this study, a group of five bilingual and generalist early childhood teachers engaged in a journey in which they elected to try to reconstruct their beliefs and practices about teaching…

This article presents results from a case study analyzing the process of change for early childhood educators as they engage in a semester-long professional development (PD) experience focused on developing a teacher research agenda related to mathematics instruction. During this PD experience, 11 participants (5 second-grade and 6 third-grade…

This study examined the effectiveness of a professional development (PD) experience on preschool teachers' instructional strategy development. Focusing on supporting young children's peer social competence as a common interest, preschool teachers were guided to design the specific contents of the PD workshops and were offered an on-site…

An itinerant service delivery model takes early intervention and special education services to environments where young children with disabilities participate in their communities. Reconciliation of the mismatch that often occurs between recommended and actual practice requires support at all levels of the service delivery system, including…

Research suggests that teachers' interactions with preschool-age children have a significant influence on what children learn and the skills they develop. Additional research is needed to systematically determine the types of professional development that can help teachers learn effective teaching practices. This study is part of a larger effort…

Emphasis on continuing professional development is seen as an important aspect of educational reform at all levels of education. In recent years, a number of colleges and universities have established partnerships for the professional development of teachers at the elementary and secondary levels. However, there have been few partnerships within…

The number of state-funded prekindergarten programs continues to grow in the United States. The quality of these early childhood programs, however, often depends on the type of professional development provided. In this investigative study, an experimental pre-post causal-comparative research design was employed to evaluate the impact of an 8-week…

The purpose of this article is to propose performance as a creative instructional strategy to convey complex competencies related to understanding and working effectively with families in early childhood education. Performance derives from performance ethnography, which is a qualitative research methodology. Its application to professional…

Funded through a No Child Left Behind of 2001 (NCLB) grant, this research examines the effects of the Arizona System Ready/Child Ready Early Childhood Professional Development Project (AzSRCR) on the self-efficacy of 256 educators who participated in AzSRCR over a 3-year period. The AzSRCR program was a federally funded, statewide higher education…

Mathematics is a natural part of daily life for young children as they explore and investigate the world around them. To build on these experiences, and to begin establishing a mathematical foundation, early childhood educators must not only be knowledgeable about mathematical concepts, they must also be aware of the most developmentally…

Disadvantaged children--those in poverty, minorities, or whose first language is not English--often come to kindergarten several years behind their more advantaged peers, especially in the areas of literacy and oral language development. A logical place to begin making a difference in children's literate lives is in the years before kindergarten.…

The purpose of this study was to investigate the use of action research by ten preservice teachers earning their associate's degree in early childhood education from a small university in the West. Their goal was to assess the impact of their teaching on student learning with children birth to 8 years of age. This study represents the use of…

The Quality Child Care Initiative, the federal apprenticeship program applied to the field of early care and education, has been implemented in over 40 states. This federal initiative was designed to reduce turnover, increase wages, provide a more stable environment for children, and lower the concern of parents. Rhode Island received funding in…