Canada

This article describes an initiative that extended the Investigating Quality (IQ) Project’s model of pedagogical development to a partnership between local ECE programs and their ongoing professional learning and an ECE training institution and its preparation of student educators. We begin with an overview of the project and pedagogical development model, describing how it conceptualizes and promotes professional learning as co-constructed in socio-material-historical-cultural-political contexts. We follow this with an analysis of the model’s three key conditions: inquiry based learning, making learning visible, and pedagogical facilitation support. We conclude with considerations for what this model of pedagogical development might mean for the ECE profession.

Kathleen Kummen and B. Denise Hodgins

Journal of Early Childhood Studies

2019

This induction support pilot project involved 22 early childhood educators in the interior of British Columbia who had a range of experience, from just beginning to 29 years in the field. Participants in the project were offered opportunities for peer mentoring, professional development, access to university faculty, visits to early learning programs, and online support. The results from the study include greater awareness on the part of participants of the value of peer mentoring and connection to community, increased knowledge, and increased sense of efficacy. At the end of the project, participants reflected on their experiences in semistructured interviews and focus groups. They also shared ways the pilot project could be improved, and the project is being revised based on their feedback.

Laura K. Doan

Journal of Early Childhood Studies

2019

There is broad consensus that high-quality environments for young children depend on teachers who are skilled at nurturing their development and learning, yet low pay and inadequate working conditions routinely hamper teachers in their efforts to apply their skills and knowledge. Yet, the voices of early educators — those working with children from infancy through preschool — are rarely heard, and public awareness of the challenges facing this workforce remains low. Compared to their K-12 peers, early educators are less organized and vocal about their situation, but a persistent state of teacher crisis casts a pall over efforts to ensure high-quality early care and education for all children prior to kindergarten. This study captures the perspectives of early educators about their working environments in one state, New York, and how these environments impact teaching staff practice and wellbeing. In order to teach to the best of their ability, educators require work environments that support their ongoing learning, emphasize time without child responsibilities for professional activities, and offer dependable benefits that ensure their well-being. With prioritization of workforce supports, quality improvement initiatives can make substantive progress towards a system that is equitable, efficient, and effective for children, their families, and educators alike. Capturing the experiences and perspectives of early educators working directly with children as a component of evaluating QUALITYstarsNY presents an opportunity to further refine and strengthen the policies, practices, and resources necessary to facilitate a high-quality system that supports children and their teachers alike.

Alaina Roach O’Keefe, Sonya Hooper, and Brittany Jakubiec

Journal of Early Childhood Studies

2019

Culture and Practice in Early Childhood Teacher Education: A Comparative and Qualitative Study focuses on two early childhood teacher education programs in contexts where the participants are undergoing rapid social and personal change. The first is a program in Namibia, and the second is a program for immigrant childcare educators in Canada.

The study's objective is to provide in-depth understanding of the ways in which differing ideas about teacher education are reflected in practice. It stresses the importance of education programs that prepare teachers to ensure young children are ready for school, and maintain meaningful connections to the culture and language of the home community. Without such connections, many children in settings undergoing rapid change will continue to drop out of school before literacy and other skills are firmly established.

The study uses ethnographic methods to undertake fieldwork in teacher education classrooms at the two research sites over a period of two terms. The central research question focuses on the way conceptions of young children’s preschool needs are played out in each setting. The data stems from analysis of early childhood care and education and teacher education curricula; policy and other documents; focused observations in teacher education classrooms and teaching practice; and interviews with teacher educators, education officers, teachers, parents, and community leaders.