In this paper, "Teaching Expertise in Three Countries" project is used as an example to show the significance and contribution of international comparative research and to think about the possible implications for policy in early childhood education. The project studied the development of expertise in preschool teaching in Japan, China,…

The Early Childhood Education Quality (ECEQ) initiative is a pioneering approach toward supporting ongoing, self-organized professional development in the private kindergarten sector in Japan. The purpose of this study is to examine how kindergarten teachers and ECEQ coordinators experience this approach and view the ECEQ process. Online…

This book provides significant information regarding the policies and provisions for early childhood teacher education programs in universities in fourteen different countries. Early childhood education and care (ECEC) is expanding rapidly across the globe with unprecedented numbers of children attending EC centres, requiring the investment in…

Curriculum plays an important role in ensuring continuity and progression from early childhood education and care (ECEC) to primary education. The alignment of curricula and standards across these settings shapes children's early experiences with education systems, with implications for children's relationships and engagement in both ECEC and…

Researchers from different disciplines (e.g., physiological, psychological, philosophical) have investigated motivation using multiple approaches. For example, in physiology (the scientific study of the normal function in living systems such as biology), researchers may use "electrical and chemical stimulation of the brain, the recording of…

Exposing pre-service teachers to international professional experiences through a short-term visiting programme serves to challenge their understandings of good quality practice through disturbing assumptions and expectations previously formed through experiences in their own country/culture. Much of the research in international study focuses on…

The purpose of this article is to explore the way preschool teachers teach reflective care in Japan. The article builds on a two-month ethnographic study conducted in Japanese kindergartens and nurseries among children aged 3-6 years. The data were analysed using concepts of age and gender. The results show that care in Japan, in contrast to…

Language teacher education is widely identified as one of the most important areas that needs addressing in order to improve early language instruction, yet research into teacher education for early language teachers remains relatively sparse. This volume responds to this gap by compiling studies with diverse methodological tenets from a wide…

The quality of early childhood education has dominated current debates in the ways educators develop and implement learning programs for children yet conceptions of quality vary contextually and culturally. This qualitative case study explored the insider perspectives of six early childhood educators in Sapporo, Japan regarding their conceptions…

Around the world, school districts and institutions are exploring ways to provide quality education to their students. With this, there is a deeper need for multiculturalism in classrooms, as many students are from varying cultures and speak different languages. "Early Childhood Education from an Intercultural and Bilingual Perspective"…

The purpose of this study was to examine similarities and differences in the perceptions of childcare among American, Chinese, Japanese and Swedish early childhood teachers. Participants consisted of 78 American teachers, 156 Chinese teachers, 158 Japanese teachers, and 157 Swedish teachers. The results of quantitative analysis revealed that these…

The purpose of the study was to examine early childhood education pre-service teachers' perceptions of the increasing role of new technologies in classroom environments. Given the growth in interest in a teacher's technological literacy, the research focused on similarities in and differences between pre-service teachers' concepts of technology…

In this article, the author presents the challenges faced by early childhood education in 29 countries, according to the World Forum National Representatives and Global Leaders for Young Children. The countries represented in these responses include: Azerbaijan, Bangladesh, Bolivia, Brazil, Canada, Denmark, Egypt, Fiji, India, Iran, Iraq, Japan,…

When "Preschool in Three Cultures" was published in 1989, it attracted great attention, as a result of the insights into the three cultures explored as well as the methodology that anchored the research. What made the book so intriguing to many scholars, regardless of their geographical areas of interest, however, was the unique…

Preschool teachers use the domino effect--standing dominos on end in rows and pushing one over--to examine how play contributes to children's acquisition of knowledge. Using diagrams, photos, and vignettes of children between the ages of 3 and 5 years, the authors demonstrate how children at different stages of development use physical knowledge…