This article is on early childhood teacher education in Tajikistan. It is contextualized by the collapse of the Soviet Union and Tajikistan's rebirth in 1992, followed by Tajikistan's immediate spiral into a five-year civil war. Established as a presidential republic and having existed for fewer than 25 years as war-free, Tajikistan has made…

Effective parental communication is a professional responsibility that is often overlooked in preparing the next generation of early childhood educators. Preparation programs that incorporate context-embedded opportunities for preservice professionals to be involved with parents are needed. This study examined a personnel preparation model which…

How can online modules be used to teach undergraduate students or pre-service teachers the principles of Developmentally Appropriate Practices (DAP) for guiding young children's behavior? To examine this overarching question, this study developed online modules with video teaching components, and conducted both formative and summative evaluations…

Effective inclusive teaching practices continue to be an area of uncertainty for preservice and practicing teachers. This qualitative study examined the lived experiences of three, general education, early childhood, preservice teachers (PST) completing a field experience in preschool classrooms for children with significant disabilities. All…

Many within early childhood and early childhood teacher education are concerned about the changed kindergarten. At the same time, students entering early childhood teacher education programs were educated in these changed schooling systems that emphasize standards and accountability, which can impact the ways in which they make sense of teaching…

Although there have been calls in the early childhood field for effective approaches to preparing the workforce to support optimal early child development, there is a gap in understanding how different types of professional development predict teachers' beliefs about children and their self-reported classroom practices. Using the National Survey…

The field of early childhood education and care in the United States and around the globe is challenged by the growing number of immigrant children in classrooms and their diverse needs. Juxtaposing these concerns is a great silence in the literature on teacher development and education for teaching young immigrant children. Through a series of…

Stress has been shown to negatively impact early childhood teachers' abilities to provide high quality, responsive environments for young children. Previous studies of early childhood teacher stress have focused on the tasks and responsibilities inherent in the job as well as on structural conditions within the field of early childhood education.…

Because of their frequent and regular contact with families, early childhood educators (ECEs) have the opportunity to get to know parents and forge bonds with them. They may also witness parental violence and be asked to provide support as parent ask for advice. In the context of parental violence, ECEs support can be directed toward the parents…

An extraordinary number of young children are exposed to trauma that impacts their development and well-being. Early care and education (ECE) programs are uniquely positioned to support children exposed to trauma yet may lack access to resources and professional development to enhance their capacity to deliver trauma-informed care. Using a…

Professionals in the field of early childhood are encouraged to demonstrate reflective perspectives of their work supported by pedagogical documentation. The purpose of this article is to introduce a rubric developed for preservice and inservice teachers to improve documentation and reflection. The rubric's four dimensions: visible learning,…

This Reflection on Practice is based upon a change in the undergraduate course "Family and Community Relations." Historically, this course has been taught on campus in a lecture format, as well as small and large group activities. However, during a spring semester at a midsized Midwestern University, it was altered to provide more direct…

In this commentary, pedagogical reflection is examined through the lens of a practitioners' personal memories of childhood play. The telling of these stories uncovers and describes the ways in which teachers' personal "play histories" and their reflections upon them could inform their facilitative relationship to, provision for, and…

Inclusion means that students with disabilities have access to high-quality and effective instruction, as well as specialized services as needed, within least restrictive environments. We believe there are no limits on who can or should participate in and benefit from inclusion and we were interested in perceptions resulting from professional…

Designing field embedded experiences for teacher candidates poses a unique challenge for large teacher education programs. Field experiences must include working with students, enhanced pedagogical coaching, and interaction within a professional community. Coursework coupled with field work should engage teacher candidates in a process of…