Recent Illinois state policies call for mandatory preparation of early childhood educators to address the needs of the large and growing population of young English language learners. University-based early childhood teacher preparation programs across Illinois have responded by integrating content related to cultural and linguistic diversity into…

The Cycle of Inquiry (COI) is a tool for emergent curriculum planning and for professional development of early childhood teachers and teacher education students. The COI includes a sequence of five organizational forms connecting analysis of documentation data with intentional planning for long-term emergent inquiry inspired by the Reggio Emilia…

Children experience demanding changes during the transition from early childhood programs to primary school. Research shows that children's initial academic and social success at school can affect their long-term adjustment, achievement, and success. The authors, both early childhood teachers in Singapore, undertook an action research project that…

The contribution of early education to children's well-being and school success is widely recognized. Effective teachers are the most critical factor in the quality of a child's education. The key to sustaining teacher effectiveness and supporting continuous growth is high-quality professional development. Despite its critical importance,…

This paper describes the early childhood teacher training program and the role of the Project Approach in the final practicum for student teachers in the Lisbon School of Education, Portugal. Student teachers, cooperating teachers, university supervisors, and instructors of teaching methods worked together to involve young children in interesting…

This article investigates how culture shapes instruction in a bilingual early care and education program serving migrant and seasonal farm worker families in rural Wyoming. Interviews with eight early childhood teachers as well as classroom observations were conducted. The investigation is framed around the following research question: How does…

Study groups and learning circles can offer a systematic way for early childhood teachers to interact about their work and create a culture of professional development. This paper describes how faculty systematically followed a collaborative co-inquiry process in order to improve a new early childhood interdisciplinary teacher preparation program.…

This article discusses how a brief project-based unit promoted the learning of children in a first-grade classroom. The children attended a public elementary school located in a southeastern university town in the United States. Approximately 94% of the students in the school were from economically disadvantaged families. No children in this…

Research has shown that close ties between early childhood teachers and parents are helpful for children, but many teachers have mixed feelings about, or feel unprepared for, such relationships. This study, drawn from a larger study of preservice and beginning teachers, used narrative inquiry to trace the development of an early childhood…

Early childhood contexts often enact "common-sense identities" that create and sustain the notion that teachers of young children are expressly female and heterosexual. It has also been argued that touch is a key difference between men and women in early childhood classrooms. This exploratory study examined 10 early childhood textbooks to…

This study explored the ways in which early childhood special education teachers supported children's social behavior within the context of their preschool classrooms. Data collected for six children through naturalistic classroom observations were coded and analyzed for emergent themes within a qualitative framework. Findings revealed a variety…

New Jersey provides a unique context from which to explore the issue of preschool teacher certification and preparation because of the 1998 and 2000 Supreme Court decisions related to the Abbott districts. These decisions ruled that the 30 poorest districts were to create systems of high-quality preschool for all 3- and 4-year-old children…

This study examined the relationship between teachers' beliefs and intentions about the importance of teacher-child interactions. The participants were 71 early childhood teachers who had worked with children ages 35 for an average of 9 years (range 0-29). Roughly 35% of the teachers had majored in early childhood education, and 63% held at least…

Noting that school readiness--the preparedness of children to learn what is taught in schools--is the cornerstone of today's education reform movement, this article presents a brief overview of the key public factors that contribute to school readiness. These factors include both historical and contemporary American views of early learning as…

This paper summarizes demographic information on early childhood programs and teachers of 3- and 4-year-olds. Questionnaires were sent to a random sample of early childhood programs across the United States. Data were collected on teacher characteristics and structural features of early childhood programs (enrollment, class size, hours of…