Racial inequity has long been an issue in the educational system. In recent years, researchers and policy makers have begun to recognize the role of implicit bias in the disproportionate number of African American children who are suspended or expelled from school. Particular attention is being given to the use of exclusionary practices in early…

In recent years, increased attention has been given to executive function and its relationship to the overall learning and development of young children. Because of this, it is essential that educators have the skills needed to effectively facilitate the development of executive function throughout early childhood. The focus of the current paper…

While early childhood practitioners have long been asked to have complex understandings of child development and provide rich, meaningful educational experiences for children, focusing on mathematics marks new terrain. Consequently, teacher educators are now tasked with figuring out how to communicate new ideas about early mathematics education to…

In early childhood education and early childhood teacher preparation, science is often a challenging academic content area. However, young children are primed for science learning, and early science learning is important for later science achievement. The current study presents an embedded case study of one early childhood teacher preparation…

Home visiting is a primary service delivery approach to promote young children's development and support families. Early Intervention professionals are expected to partner with families to create effective learning experiences in the daily context of routine family life. Concerns about early childhood (special) educators' readiness to take on this…

While the early childhood student population has become increasingly diverse in the U.S., its teaching force remains primarily European American. The diverse student population demands that early childhood educators possess intercultural sensitivity in order to teach their culturally diverse learners effectively. This study examined the…

University-based teacher education programs are criticized for being too theoretical, disconnected from the everyday realities of schools. To bridge this gap, teacher education programs give students year-long field experiences under the joint tutelage of mentor teachers and university faculty. However, this assumes that mentor teachers will not…

This study examined 158 lesson plans at one institution across two teacher education programs, inclusive early childhood and elementary education, to determine the impact of Internet usage as inspiration on preservice teachers' lesson plans. Fisher's exact test determined statistically significant differences between the Internet use of preservice…

The current study investigated perceptions, thoughts, and attitudes of parents of typically developing children enrolled in inclusive 3-year-old and 4-year-old preschool classrooms. Using a qualitative approach, guided by ecological system theory semi-structured interviews with parents (N = 7) were completed. Several common themes related to…

This study examined parent-teacher interactions during a photo-sharing project at three early childhood centers that serve as clinical sites for early childhood preservice teachers. Families were provided with a digital camera for one week to document activities they used to support children's early learning and development. Families then…

This study examines the two kindergarten teachers' shared professional identities in teamwork in an effort to clarify what constitutes their shared identities and how these identities affect the teachers' professional practices and beliefs. The relational nature of identity maintains that individuals are not the only constructors of their…

Providing early childhood professionals with professional development opportunities to enhance their skills and knowledge can improve quality of care. For professional development to be valued by the early childhood workforce, it is essential to offer meaningful content that accommodates the needs of the learner. With an increasing demand for…

Teacher educators and field placement supervisors in early childhood teacher education (ECTE) programs aid their students in learning a specific repertoire of tools and skills, including pedagogical tools they can mobilize in their future practice. However, these tools reify abstract notions about how to teach young children that are consistent…

Within the United States, publicly funded pre-Kindergarten (pre-K) is a borderland of teacher practice--somewhere between early childhood and Elementary approaches to pedagogy. For pre-K teachers, this can mean negotiating many different, and oft-competing conceptions of what curriculum and practice should look like in order to support the…

Many young children in the United States are faced with chronic illnesses that cause them unique challenges. It is imperative that all members of children's support systems feel prepared to help meet those challenges. One integral component of this support team for children are their teachers. The purpose of this study was to assess preservice…