This was an attempt to conduct a micro-investigation of teachers' verbal instruction. It was based on the assumption that there must be, within broad categories such as "explaining," both better and worse ways of using language to represent reality and/or to direct student behaviors. The subjects in the study were 20 experienced kindergarten…

This paper describes the development of a Professional Development School (PDS) partnership between a comprehensive state university and an all kindergarten elementary school. The PDS coordinator began the process of collaboration with the school principal in spring 2002. The principal invited the PDS coordinator and a university faculty member to…

Research suggests that project learning has great potential to foster a comprehensive knowledge base for teachers. This paper describes the rationale for weaving project learning into early childhood teacher education programs and describes how teacher educators can effectively implement the strategy in their curriculum. Included is a discussion…

This paper reports on a phenomenological case study that explored the blossoming and wilting of an early childhood educator's career commitment and her eventual decision to leave the field. Spanning a 7-year period, the study employs representation and analysis of metaphors as heuristic tools to illuminate the lived experience of becoming, being,…

This study examined kindergarten retention rates and their relationship to teacher beliefs and classroom practice. Data from a sub-sample of 22 teachers in a rural Georgia school district, who were classified as exhibiting either high or low levels of developmental appropriateness in their teaching, suggested that teachers whose practices were…

This paper addresses recent educational policy developments in England and Wales, focusing on the National Literacy Strategy, National Numeracy Strategy, and the proposed Early Learning Goals. The paper delineates research findings regarding the early mathematics and English learning achieved before entry into formal schooling, effective teaching…

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 presents findings of an evaluation of a 2-day training workshop, that was designed to enhance professionals' skills in working with three- and four-year old children in developmentally appropriate ways. The participants included 22 administrators, 72 teachers, and 25 teacher aides at 6 different training sites in a southern state. A…

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 study examined the conceptions of Finnish child care personnel about girls' and boys' work, as well as fathers' and mothers' work education, based on a mail survey of 317 female preschool teachers chosen from the register of the Kindergarten Teacher Association. The subjects were asked to write an essay about the subject "a girl doing…

Teacher's behavior toward preschool children varying in attractiveness and children's behavior toward their teachers were investigated. Participating were 64 preschool children and 9 teachers. Children, who attended a private preschool in Houston, Texas, were white, equally divided by sex and age, and from middle-income homes. A group of 30 adult…

A case is made for the use of computer assisted instruction (CAI) in Child Development Associate (CDA) training programs conducted on-campus in conjunction with an educational curriculum or conducted off-campus in conjunction with child care programs. The following points are made: (1) CAI can be used to supplement and amplify a teacher's…

A survey of 27 principals, 45 kindergarten teachers, 86 primary teachers, and 57 preservice teachers was designed to determine whether teachers instruct kindergarten children and elementary school students differently. Subjects were asked about benefits of free exploration of materials, child-selected activities, use of props in play, social…

By analogy, research suggests that training Child Development Associate (CDA) candidates to handle the complexity and autonomy of the early childhood teaching job is likely to have long range effects on the teacher and the early childhood education field. That is, a truly competent teacher behaves professionally and will become increasingly…

This paper discusses problems of course and curriculum construction for a course for students at the Phillip Institute of Technology, Victoria, Australia, who were also practicing teachers. Since 1985 the early childhood staff at the institute have worked with groups of teachers who were employed in early childhood centers but whose previous…