Examples are provided in this discussion to indicate the nature of professional judgment in a teaching situation likely to be encountered by most child care workers or preschool teachers. Specifically, this predicament involves a problem in turn taking among 4-year-olds. As used here, the term "professional judgment" refers to cognitive…

This paper, presented in three parts, examines the role of the early childhood professional in Europe. Part 1 of the paper examines how various European countries broadly conceptualize the early childhood professional role. Four broad categories are described: (1) early childhood pedagogue; (2) preschool specialist; (3) teacher; and (4) social…

This paper discusses the organization of early childhood education and preschool education in Japan and describes how teachers are trained for positions in these schools. It is noted that the organization of such education in Japan has undergone considerable change since the first kindergarten was established in 1877. At that time the curriculum…

There is a growing need for preschool teachers. The enrollment of 3- and 4-year-olds in preschool has grown steadily and the number of young children with working mothers has also increased. Many parents would prefer to place their children in day care centers if they could find centers with staff trained in early childhood education. The number…

This study compared the beliefs of parents of preschoolers, kindergarten teachers, and child care providers in North Carolina about the characteristics children should have upon entry to public school kindergarten. Surveys were administered statewide through in-person or telephone interviews to 757 parents (half receiving public assistance), 575…

This paper reviews the history of the Child Development Associate (CDA) credential, created in 1972 to meet the growing need for skilled child care workers to provide quality programs for young children in the United States. A pilot program was launched in 1974, leading to the granting of CDA credentials in 1975. Since 1976 over 60,000 CDA…

This paper reports results of a follow-up telephone survey of the job turnover rates of 20 male and 20 female day care teachers and 20 male engineers who had previously participated in a study of sex-role attitudes, behaviors and personality traits. (The teachers were initially matched for age, education and day care center, and the engineers were…

This study investigated the effect of full-time nonparental care during infancy on children's acquisition of developmentally inappropriate patterns of interaction with peers and teachers in preschool classrooms. Subjects, 105 children with a mean age of 53 months, were divided into 3 groups of children who had: (1) full-time nonparental care…

A study was conducted to develop reliable measures of parents' perceptions or concerns about their children's progress in the domain of peer relations, and to assess the relationship between perceptions of progress and concerns. The study sample consisted of 62 white, preschool children (34 girls and 28 boys) and their mothers and teachers.…

The life span and life events literature, in conjunction with the Aptitude/Treatment Interaction paradigm, is used to define developmental and contextual variables for program design and research efforts in the area of early childhood teacher education. The extended paradigm or framework, called Antecedent/Transaction Interaction (ATI), consists…

This study evaluated the teaching methods of 11 day care teachers and caregivers at a university-sponsored center to determine if: (1) the teachers used different strategies for same-age and mixed-age groups of children; (2) there are differences in strategies used by less- and more-experienced teachers; and (3) teachers used specific strategies…

This presentation suggests books, audiovisuals, articles, and training materials that can serve to introduce new parents and child care workers into the art and practice of high quality infant and child care. The materials described are easy-to-read and addressed to the practitioner. They deal with a wide variety of issues, reflect the best of…

This paper describes a study of the socioemotional functioning of middle-class male and female preschoolers who had experienced varying degrees of nonparental care during the infant/toddler period. A review of the literature revealed that previous research findings from child care programs were inconclusive about potential differential effects on…

This study examined the provision of early childhood care and education (ECCE) in Trinidad and Tobago, focusing on the educational environment and demographic factors within ECCE. A representative national sample of 2,370 children, 175 teachers, and 883 parents from 79 public and private centers across the country completed questionnaires or…

Baseline data were gathered from 316 students in 3-year training programs at 6 New Zealand colleges of education in order to determine why the students chose to go into early childhood education, what early childhood service they expected to work in, and where they would be employed after they completed their training. Of the students who…