This investigation explored the relationship between educator preparation programs and teachers' perceptions of instructional readiness in foundational literacy skills. This study also examined the impact that early childhood, elementary, and specialty endorsement education programs of study, reading methods courses, and clinical field experiences…

As classrooms become increasingly more diverse in terms of culture, linguistics, and student need, teacher education programs must evolve to develop teachers who are not only specialized in their field or content, but who are effective collaborators with colleagues and families. However, it is not enough for teacher candidates to have knowledge of…

The quality of early caregiving and educational environments has a significant effect on children's later cognitive outcomes. Early childhood teachers are an important determining factor in the quality of these environments and therefore they need appropriate professional preparation. The purpose of this study was to describe the ways in which…

The impetus for this study occurred when the principal of a secondary Professional Development School (PDS) questioned the traditional teacher education model utilized by the university partner. This principal asked the university to consider a model that better utilized both the teacher candidate and supervising teacher collaboratively to promote…

In this three-year longitudinal qualitative case study, the authors investigate a) the emergence of the professional supervisor identity, and b) the dynamics of evolving supervision practices by analyzing the case of two female supervisors from international backgrounds working within an early childhood education (P-3) program in a large…

This eye-opening set looks at young children with special needs, their families, and the laws, policies, programs, and services designed to help them. It is scientifically known that early childhood is a time of significant brain development. That makes it especially crucial that children with special needs be recognized early so that appropriate…

The guidelines and supporting rationale presented in this paper were developed from the October 2007 "Best Practices for Mental Health in Child Welfare Consensus Conference" sponsored by Casey Family Programs, the Annie E. Casey Foundation and the REACH Institute (REsource for Advancing Children's Health). The purpose of the conference was to…

Interviews were conducted with 50 early years practitioners, exploring their experiences with children with speech, language and communication needs (SLCN). A narrative approach was taken to elicit information on the children they were working with who had these needs. This included characteristics of the children's behaviour, how they were…

This column describes how a university clinic (henceforth "the Clinic") specializing in treating children with anxiety disorders managed over time to integrate empirically supported treatments and diagnostic methods, initially with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and later with other anxiety disorders as well, over the 15-year period 1991 to…