The purpose of this qualitative research study was to discover and interpret the experiences of pre-k teachers in an urban school district located in a Northeastern region of the United States. Using a basic qualitative research design, fifteen participants were recruited by a purposeful sampling method to be interviewed after the implementation…

The dyadic nature of the teacher-child relationship is recognized as a significant factor in young children's learning experiences. However understandings about how teachers' own personal and professional identities and experiences influence their construction of teacher-child relationships are under researched. This article extends upon earlier…

The study is based on an implementation of the basic steps of the Change Laboratory methodology (Engeström, Virkkunen, Helle, Pihlaja & Poikela, 1996) at the University of Ioannina. It was derived by a discussion with master's students during a course about science education curricula in pre-school and primary education and their effectiveness…

This article investigates preschool teachers' professionalism and professional strategies in relation to narratives about learning in preschool. These are expressed through the teachers' talk about documentation. A policy on increased systematic documentation in preschools has been introduced in Sweden. Preschool teachers were interviewed about…

This qualitative case study explored how an infant teacher provided meaningful learning experiences for infants through play and the teacher's educational rationale behind these experiences. Findings were based on multiple sources of data, including classroom observations (natural observation and videotaped observation) for approximately 12 weeks…

There is an increased international interest in how close attachment interactions with infants and toddlers are realised and interpreted by early years professionals. It is troubling for those who work in early years settings with infants and toddlers to know how best to demonstrate healthy loving attachment behaviours as an expectation of their…

It has been argued in the literature that it is harder for Asians than Westerners to think and act in a creative manner due to cultural influences and the discourses of creativity are always culture-specific. This study addresses this issue by using a qualitative research approach, exploring and analysing the characteristic features of creative…

This study examines how interpretations of mentoring by trainee mentors (TMs) changed over the course of a mentor training programme, and how this contributed to the TMs' professional development. The context of the study was a mentor training programme for preschool teachers who mentor early childhood teacher students during their practicums.…

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,…

Findings are presented regarding childcare providers' use of evidence-based strategies to promote preschoolers' social-emotional competence in 38 urban childcare classrooms. Descriptive results from classroom observations and childcare teachers' interviews indicated that in the absence of training, childcare teaching staff implemented few of these…

This study investigated young children's preferences for books to read aloud. Participants included 142 children enrolled in 4 public kindergartens in the Sanliurfa province of Turkey, their parents (142 parents), and teachers. Forty-nine 4-year-olds and 93 5-year-olds and their 9 teachers participated in the study. Parents filled out surveys;…

This article reports on the persistence and significance of notions of time and temporality in interviews with early childhood educators in Victoria and Queensland, Australia, in two studies designed to explore the concept of "pedagogical leadership". Interpretive analysis of the interview transcripts of the 19 participants identified…

Young children of immigrants are increasingly part of early childhood programs in the United States but teachers have mixed approaches and attitudes about the immigrant families that they work with. This article details an analysis of 50 preschool teachers in five US cities using data from the Children Crossing Borders video-cued ethnographic…

National reforms introduced into the early childhood education and care sector across Australia have created a requirement for each service to appoint an "educational" leader to provide curriculum direction to ensure that children achieve quality care and education to lead to positive outcomes. Leadership in the early childhood has often…

The current study sought to scientifically adapt the existing five essentials teacher survey and develop a new parent survey, and pilot test them for use in early childhood education settings. The adaptation and development of these "Early Education Surveys" occurred in 2014-15, was based strongly on Bryk et al.'s (2010) existing…