The objective of this study was to characterise prospective kindergarten teachers' development of noticing children's thinking about length and its measurement. We used the concepts of instrumental genesis and learning trajectories to identify the ways in which prospective kindergarten teachers used a learning trajectory to learn to notice…

In Sweden, as in Western countries generally, most preschool teachers are women. This fact sometimes leads to the assumption that preschools are "feminine", and that this might be bad for boys. We challenge this assumption. Using a gender critical approach we have studied preschool student teachers. "Femininity" might be used…

The Interactive Whiteboard (IWB) is now a common technological artefact in Swedish preschools and schools. This study examines preschool teachers' thinking behind the embedding of IWB in the early years' mathematics classroom and how preschool teachers structure their mathematical activities when using IWB. Two complementary empirical studies,…

This article studies which and how Information and Communications Technologies (ICTs) are used by nursery and primary education in-service teachers as reported by their pre-service teacher trainees after observations in their practicum in two provinces in Spain, Alcalá de Henares-Guadalajara and Navarre. Results indicate that in-service teachers…

Research Findings: This qualitative study examined how Head Start teachers thought about children's early literacy and how they enacted their thinking in a year-long curriculum reform effort. Data collected included interviews, observations, questionnaires, concept maps, and teachers' reflections on implementation. The results indicated that as…

Preschool teachers play a very important but highly sensitive role in preschool children's play. It is therefore very important to build their play competences in a quality way. As this is not easily achieved, the main objective of the present study was to analyse the roles of students of preschool education in children's play. The study included…

The research reported here investigated the use of information and communication technologies (ICT) by 15 Hong Kong preservice early childhood teachers (PSTs) who had completed a course regarding the use of ICT in early childhood settings as they participated in their first-year teaching practicum. The study examined the preservice teachers use of…

For preservice teachers in early childhood education, having a rich exposure to multiple forms of literacy in diverse communities is an essential dimension of their teacher education. In this study, 10 Australian preservice early childhood education students, in the first year of their course, visit two early childhood settings in a large city in…

Research calls for teacher education to prepare early childhood educators for the needs of diverse and marginalized young children and their families in the U.S. With an increasing cultural divide between teachers and students, some early childhood educators may demonstrate limited understanding for how diverse cultural, linguistic, racial, and…

Pre-service teachers need support in developing their teacher identities as they navigate the uncertain and complex terrain of student teaching and face the pressures of high-stakes accountability. This support is particularly important for bilingual pre-service teachers as they negotiate the many complexities of the bilingual classroom, and as…

Pre-service teachers depend on hands-on training to acquire the necessary practical skills to effectively work in the classroom. This is especially true for pre-service teachers in Early Childhood Education (ECE), who often rely on mentoring programs to learn to successfully work with children and influence their developmental outcomes. This study…

Preparing early childhood teachers for inclusion requires the blending of high quality developmentally appropriate practices with environmental adaptations and individualized instructional practices. This article describes how a field experience was redesigned to incorporate evidence based practices in teaming and collaboration, environment and…

The enquiries in this study were directed towards the reading of children's literature in preschool with the aim of describing and analysing how read-alouds were carried out in 39 preschools in the northern and southern parts of Sweden. How often were read-alouds performed? How long were they? How was literature chosen? Who initiated the…

Research Findings: This qualitative study explored the process through which a small group of preservice early childhood teachers engaged in primary caregiving as a framework for learning about early care and education with infants during an infant practicum course at a university-affiliated early childhood center in the United States. Based on…

Practicum is the cornerstone of teacher education. Triadic assessment of practicum is an established model in early childhood initial teacher education in New Zealand. Based on a phenomenographic study on assessment of practicum, this paper presents a new perspective on triadic assessment. Interview data are collected from 35 participants (20…