The reform of the Romanian system of initial and in-service teacher education is facing similar pressures to those experienced by other European countries' teacher education systems. In particular, the drive towards greater professionalization of teaching careers and university training for teachers. In Romania this process has vacillated between…

Early childhood teachers may express positive views about inclusive practices but are the practices implemented in their classrooms? This study examined preservice and inservice teachers' attitudes toward inclusive practices as reflected in the teachers' behaviors. This qualitative study utilized open-ended initial interviews, observations with…

The preschool years, ages 3 and 4, are extremely important for children's social, emotional, physical, cognitive, and language and literacy development. Children's development can be affected by high-quality preschool experiences that can improve later academic and social competence (Barnett, 1995; Morrow, 2004; Neuman & Dickinson, 2001).…

Problem Based Learning (PBL) has been used with increased frequency in Higher Education settings since first introduced by Barrows and Tamblyn during the 1980's. Since this time PBL has been used in medical, engineering and education faculties to support pre-service students in the acquisition of skills and content knowledge relevant to their…

Guidelines for the Preparation and Professional Development of Environmental Educators is a set of recommendations about the basic knowledge and abilities educators need to provide high-quality environmental education. The guidelines are designed to apply: (1) Within the context of pre-service teacher education programs and environmental education…

Preschool is an institution for cultural preservation, which responds to social change. Guided by this assumption, this study used a recent video of Chinese preschool in conjunction with the questionnaire from "Preschool in Three Cultures", a study by Joseph Tobin and his colleagues in the 1980s, to examine the cultural and professional beliefs of…

Rural education has been routinely neglected as one aspect of diversity teachers may encounter in their career. As teacher educators at a large public university, the authors seek to prepare students for teaching in a variety of environments. In their study, while rural field placements were not feasible, a structured field trip offered students…

The goal of school/university partnerships is the simultaneous renewal of colleges of education and of K-12 schools. In theory, this improvement comes about as university and K-12 faculty members work together to mentor preservice teachers in the best possible environment. Ideally, as they participate in these collaborations, the faculty groups do…

The In-service Training Department of the Ministry of National Education is responsible for the teachers' in-service training at the preschool, primary and secondary education levels in Turkey. Important developments in in-service training have occurred since 1960: the foundation of the In-service Training Department. In 2000, 4292 in-service…

Over the last decade, research related to personal epistemological beliefs has offered insight into how to promote effective teaching and learning across educational settings. Personal epistemological beliefs reflect an individual's views about what knowledge is, how knowledge is gained, and the degree of certainty with which knowledge can be…

The preschool years ages 3 and 4 are extremely important for social, emotional, physical, and cognitive development. The purpose of this article is to discuss the importance of preschool to heighten awareness and inform administrators, educators, families, and policymakers about the value of preschool and in particular preschool literacy…

Effective teaching requires skill in implementing challenging and inviting curricular activities. It also involves evaluating children's learning in order to extend their development through the school year. Being able to implement and evaluate at the same time is at the heart of good teaching. Written for PreK-3 educators, this book blends…

Research evidence demonstrates that a high-quality early education can ameliorate the effects of disadvantage and produce positive outcomes not only for children and their families, but society as well (Barnett, 1998; Vandell & Wolfe, 2000). One of the most consistent indicators of quality is the presence of qualified teachers who have…

This paper describes the experiences of three toddlers with developmental delays and their caregivers in an inclusive child care center. Case study methodology was used to synthesize data representing initial issues presented by parents, caregivers' reflections on their relationships with the toddlers, and interactions between toddlers with…

The present article presents the results obtained from a research on Science Education ideas, practices, and needs of pre-primary teachers in Greece. A questionnaire was administrated to a sample of 130 pre-primary school teachers, and the data was analyzed through Multiple Correspondence Analysis. The results show that there are separate groups…