The overall aim of this study was to present research areas within early childhood education in a dialogue between municipality and university. The purpose was to produce ideas and develop research in teacher education, with the hope of increasing the understanding of what kind of research is needed into early childhood education. The data…

The contribution of early education to children's well-being and school success is widely recognized. Effective teachers are the most critical factor in the quality of a child's education. The key to sustaining teacher effectiveness and supporting continuous growth is high-quality professional development. Despite its critical importance,…

Discusses results of a survey of kindergarten teachers on the question of early reading instruction in kindergarten classrooms in the state of Virginia. (CS)

Discusses the importance of professional preparation and training of early childhood educators and the role of the National Institute for Early Childhood Professional Development. Suggests that reflection, self-evaluation, and self-direction are critical to the process of professional development. Provides an instrument designed for…

Perceptions of childcare teachers in for-profit and non-profit centers were examined. Previous research indicates that childcare teachers earn consistently low wages, have little employee benefits and are dissatisfied with their work environments. This study further explores the employment issues and work environments that childcare teachers…

Interactions between parenting styles and children's negative affect in the prediction of reticent, solitary-active, and rough-and-tumble play behaviours were examined. The present study involved 98 children, their mothers and their preschool teachers. Participants (53 boys and 45 girls) were a mean age of 3.83 years (standard deviation = 0.69).…

This 147-item questionnaire was used to collect data on those Head Start and other preschool teachers who were teaching Longitudinal Study target children. Areas of requested information included: demographic characteristics, education and experience, attitudes toward minority-groups and economically disadvanted children's motivation and learning…

Sixty-two infant teachers and 88 therapists (physical, occupational, and speech) working in therapeutic toddler classes in the Netherlands completed a job questionnaire for job stress. Most job stress was perceived to be a result of lack of non-contact time. Nine sources of job stress were identified. The four disciplines responded differently to…

This paper describes an investigation of Australian early childhood teachers' sustainment in their profession, focussing on those factors which enhance professional commitment, job satisfaction and occupational motivation. Utilizing qualitative methodology this study also identified key factors early childhood teachers consider crucial to…

This paper reports the findings of an Australia-wide survey conducted as part of a national teacher education research project that explored the preparation of teachers to teach literacy and numeracy in Australian schools (Louden, Rohl, Gore, Greaves, McIntosh, Wright, Siemon & House, 2005). The project included various phases of inquiry,…

The overall aim of the project was to engage early childhood teachers in investigating and improving their expertise in the teaching and learning of mathematics. The intention of the project was to develop a research environment through which researchers and kindergarten teachers worked collaboratively, using action research methodology, to…

Children with developmental disorders may present with listening and/or speech discrimination difficulties. This study explores whether teachers can identify these difficulties, using a questionnaire that rates children's listening, speech discrimination and comprehension abilities. The questionnaire was given to class-teachers of 52 pupils, aged…

Fifty states and the District of Columbia were contacted by questionnaire to survey preschool handicapped children teacher certification guidelines. (IM)

Preschool programs for children with and without disabilities housed in public school settings have increased dramatically over the last decade. This study examined the perspectives of preschool teachers about who provides instructional supervision for their preschool programs and the behaviors these individuals use to influence their…

Teaching children with Autistic Spectrum Disorder (ASD) can be the most challenging to preschool teachers because of the complexity of this brain disorder. A child s life is affected, whether its communication and language, social and play skills, activities of daily living, self-regulation behaviors, and sensory impairments. Therefore, a teacher…