To ensure that all students have sufficient knowledge and skills in science and technology for success in the 21st century, the nation must attract, prepare, and retain well-educated, effective preK-12 science teachers. The National Science Teachers Association (NSTA) considers strong, performance-based science teacher education program and…

Four early childhood preservice teachers interviewed and observed teachers and children in early learning centers on the Salish and Kootenai Flathead Indian Reservation in Montana. The purpose of this study was to explore the perceptions of preservice teachers versus those of the caregivers (in-service teachers) regarding the presence of family…

One goal educators have is to empower students at all levels in this diverse and changing society whether they work with teacher candidates or with P-12 students. Teachers are seeing increased differences in race, ethnicity, culture, and special needs in children in their classrooms. The changing composition of early childhood classrooms…

This book follows master educator Elizabeth (Betty) Jones as she teaches an introductory course in early childhood education. She actively engages the students, encouraging them to make decisions, ask questions, and engage in collaborative problem solving--herself modeling the behaviors that should be practiced by adults working with young…

Twenty-one in-service early childhood students participated in a teaching practicum in Australia as part of the final year of a Bachelor of Arts in Hong Kong. Students spent two weeks visiting a university and early childhood settings in Australia. The university based component of the program included workshops and discussions with lecturing…

This study argues that maximizing early childhood educators' abilities to create social opportunities for co-construction of knowledge rests on two understudied assumptions, one theoretical and one empirical. Theoretically this study rejects the notion of language as an impartial conveyor of knowledge in favor of one in which math and language…

Based on changes in the delivery of early childhood special education (ECSE) services, an argument is made for including content related to the purposes and models of consultation as well as collaborative process skills in personnel preparation programs for early childhood special educators. The content of current personnel preparation programs…

Embedded teaching involves incorporating teaching strategies into everyday activities (e.g., play) or routines (e.g., diapering). The success of this strategy with young children has led to the recommendation that embedded teaching be used in early childhood settings; however, it is not readily applied by teachers. Therefore, the purpose of this…

This article describes how preservice teachers accomplish and write up action research projects as part of their teacher preparation at one university in the United States. The paper is divided into four major sections. In the first section, the instructor describes how teacher research is introduced to teacher education students and how they are…

This report explores efforts in California to generally support nontraditional students, and early care and education (ECE) nontraditional students in particular. It is recommended that institutions of higher education and local planners work together to assess the needs of nontraditional students in their ECE programs, the adequacy of existing…

This book shows prospective teachers how to use the language arts to connect diverse students to the world around them and help them develop their own literate voices. It considers the integrated nature of the primary language arts--reading, writing, listening, speaking, viewing, and visually representing. The authors encourage preservice and…

The movement toward inclusion has made educating and caring for children with disabilities an increasingly critical part of the early education teacher's role. The goal of this paper is to describe the extent to which early childhood teacher preparation programs are including early childhood special education/early intervention content and…

This paper focuses on partnership between pairs of students in early childhood education during a teaching practicum in preschools and kindergartens. One hundred students enrolled in early childhood pre-service teacher education programs at a large metropolitan Australian university were paired and placed in kindergartens and preschools with host…

This investigation is an examination of musical practices, musical preparation of teachers, and music education needs as reported by early childhood professionals in the United States. Quantitative and qualitative data were gathered via a survey mailed to a random sample drawn from the database of preschool centers accredited by the National…

This research targeted the impact of service-learning experiences in one course of a teacher preparation program in an urban, private university. Participants chose either an indirect (food or toy drive) or direct (food pantry or homeless shelter) service-learning experience. Twenty-four undergraduate and graduate education majors participated in…