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 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'…

Classroom-based experiences, alternatively known as practica, are an integral component of undergraduate teacher preparation programs, which provide students essential opportunities to apply knowledge in practice. Though much is known about student teaching, much less is known about students' earlier classroom-based experiences. This…

The purpose of the current study was to examine if preservice teachers' (PSTs) mathematics anxiety decreased and if their beliefs and stereotypes changed after they completed their early childhood mathematics methods course. It was hypothesized that by using and modeling concrete materials or manipulatives (Thompson, 1992; Vinson, 2001) and…

This article explores the potential of tailoring the inherent principles of the Strengths Approach (McCashen, 2005) for preparing early childhood educators to work with children and families with complex needs. The term "Strengths Approach" (capitalized) is presented in the article as the name of a specific approach developed by St.…

Recent calls for change in teacher preparation programs stress the importance of field experience and the need for preservice teachers to have ample opportunities for peer collaboration and feedback. The paired placement model, with two preservice teachers working with one cooperating teacher, has shown to provide many benefits. However, the…

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)…

As of May 2014, all candidates for teacher certification in New York State must successfully complete the teacher performance assessment (edTPA). This article describes an assignment piloted in an early childhood literacy class as an embedded signature assessment and has three goals: to explain the context that led to the development of the…

The purpose of this descriptive study was to show the extent to which early childhood teacher educators are informed about, engage in, teach about, value, and collaborate with others in teacher research. Teacher research was defined as research (systematic data collection and analysis) teacher educators do on their own, primarily to better…

Less than one third of early childhood educators have a bachelor's degree, yet national indicators of high-quality early childhood program standards emphasize the importance of higher education for these practitioners. In order to adequately serve and retain these nontraditional learners as they strive to earn their degrees, teacher education…

Assessment plays a critical role in the planning and delivery of quality services for young children and their families. The purpose of this study was to identify the current assessment practices and training needs of early childhood professionals. A large sample of early childhood professionals responded to a comprehensive survey. The most…

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…

On the job experiences such as collaborative teacher meetings can shape how early childhood educators grow professionally and how schools can develop communities of practice. However, the effect of conversations during teacher meetings on teacher practice is not fully understood. This yearlong qualitative case study examined the relationship…

This qualitative study examines what early childhood preservice teachers enrolled in a field-based literacy methods course deemed relevant regarding teaching, literacy, and learning. This study is based on postcourse interviews with 7 early childhood preservice teachers. Findings suggest that "contextualized field experiences" facilitate…

This study was conducted during a period of national educational reforms in Jordan to investigate Jordanian preservice early childhood teachers' attitudes toward inclusion and the adequacy of their current preparation for implementing inclusion. The study also sought to identify the perceived concerns of preservice early childhood teachers about…