This study investigates the perceptions of 207 college students in early childhood education and child and family studies (future professionals) regarding the role of play in early childhood classrooms. The results indicate that future professionals in their freshman and sophomore years in college held relatively positive perceptions of play in…

This study investigated whether the types and amount of playful activity and thought exhibited from early childhood to adulthood are related to aspects of moral development, such as empathy, behavior, and reasoning. It explored whether the assertions of theorists such as Piaget, Vygotsky, and Erikson regarding the facilitative effect of games with…

This study developed a typology of recommended teacher practices related to whole-group instruction in preschool classrooms and examined the relationship between teachers' use of the practices and children's attentiveness. Thirty-nine classrooms in 31 schools (15 public and 16 private) were observed during regularly scheduled whole-group…

Sixty-eight preservice teachers from a midwestern university responded to a questionnaire asking the construct of their family, their definition of "family", if they recognized 18 relationships as families, and if they would use those relationships as examples in their future teaching. We focus primarily on participants' responses to examples of…

Partnerships where preservice teachers work with children have been found to be effective in providing real world field experiences for university students. However, little is known about what children gain from these collaborations. This research attempts to rectify this by analyzing a year-long literacy partnership in which 30 children and 55…

This study investigated preservice teachers' perspectives of integrating music in their third year of a childhood teacher education program. Preservice teachers were enrolled in a multidisciplinary course in which they learned about integrating music and had opportunities to implement such knowledge into practical teaching. One hundred sixty…

This article focuses on the influence that Arizona's mandated Structured English Immersion endorsement policy has on preservice teachers' beliefs and attitudes toward English language learners. By utilizing both quantitative and qualitative methods of inquiry, our preliminary analysis showed "the campfire effect," which is to say that our…

The purpose of this study was to identify and describe teacher candidates' perceived levels of competency and comfort in teaching diverse student populations. For three semesters, teacher candidates (n = 221) volunteered to complete questionnaires at the beginning of their professional education courses. A second group (n = 242) completed…

The research study examined the relationship between pre-kindergarten teachers' age and years of experience with their perceptions and their actual compliance with the norms of the High/Scope Pre-kindergarten Program. Teachers' perceptions of satisfaction with the supervisory relationship were measured by the Early Childhood Job Satisfaction…

It is a well-known theory and practice among early childhood educators that building early relationships with the children is crucial to their development. However, there is irony in the fact that many teacher education programs that propose to model "best practices" do not model relationship building with their preservice teachers. This study…

This paper describes the experiences of three toddlers with developmental delays and their caregivers in an inclusive child care center. Case study methodology was used to synthesize data representing initial issues presented by parents, caregivers' reflections on their relationships with the toddlers, and interactions between toddlers with…