Standardized tests are being administered to young children in greater numbers in recent years than ever before. Many more important educational decisions about children are being based on the results of these tests. This practice continues to escalate despite early childhood professional organizations' calls for a ban of standardized testing for children eight years of age and younger. Many early childhood educators have become dissatisfied with multiple-choice testing as a measure of student learning and are increasingly using various forms of alternative assessment to replace the more traditional testing formats. Teachers seem to be caught in the middle of the controversy between standardized testing and alternative assessment. This research examined what early childhood educators in one north Texas school district believe about assessment of young children and what assessment methods they report using in their classrooms, as well as factors which influence those beliefs and practices. The sample for this study was 84 teachers who taught prekindergarten through third grade. An eight-page questionnaire provided quantitative data and interviews and the researcher's journal provided qualitative data.

No description available.

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused a world crisis of an unprecedented nature. In March 2020, due to closing of non-essential private and public educational institutions, early childhood professionals had to quickly adapt and respond to the demands for social distancing, hygiene, new protocols and transition to online education. Alternatively, educators engaged in distance teaching and learning, when the families they serve lacked technological resources for online modalities. The present study examines how early childhood teachers in the United States and several Latin American countries are facing the challenges presented by COVID-19. The study clearly reflects the relevancy of the challenges faced by educators of young children, such as lack of preparation for distance teaching and learning, deficiencies in the pre-and in-service trainings to address the educational needs of young children distantly, and the need to work differently with caregivers. Teacher training and development should include the knowledge, skills, and dispositions necessary to successfully reconsider and participate in distance teaching and learning.

The purpose of this qualitative multiple-case study was to investigate early childhood teachers’ perceptions of how technology integration contributes to the development of young children’s literacy. I sought to understand their perspectives on the differences between traditional and digital literacies, the benefits of using technology for this purpose, and how they perceived their role in planning and implementing technology-integrated literacy activities. Finally, the study examined how teachers’ perceptions, beliefs, teaching experiences, and technology knowledge influenced their classroom practices. The study drew from sociocultural and multimodal perspectives that view children’s use of digital devices as tools to make meaning and engage with multimodal texts as social practice influenced by their interactions and conversations with teachers and peers in classrooms. Ten early childhood teachers from three different elementary schools agreed to participate in the study. Data were collected from semi-structured interviews and reviews of lesson plans and instructional PowerPoints. The data were analyzed through two cycles of coding that generated four overarching themes: 1) teachers’ beliefs and understanding of digital literacies, 2) digital literacy experiences in early childhood classrooms, 3) teachers’ roles in technology-enhanced instruction, and 4) facilitators and barriers to digital technology integration. The study found that participating teachers recognized the importance of integrating digital technologies into their traditional literacy instruction in moderation with the exception of pre-K teachers who asserted that digital technology was inappropriate in pre-K classrooms. The teachers tended to conceptualize digital literacies as the absence of physical aspects and materials and the consumption of digital texts. In addition, teachers observed common benefits related to technology integration including providing audio and visual modes to supplement print-centric literacy, maintaining students ‘attention by projecting stories and letters on an interactive whiteboard, and facilitating individualized learning using apps that assess students’ reading levels. The teachers provided opportunities for students to watch videos about letters and sight words and play literacy games on tablets and Chromebooks. With guidance and modeling, most teachers encouraged the students to read e-books and play literacy games. The findings suggest implications for teachers, administrators, teacher educators, policymakers for effective integration of technology in early childhood classrooms and to overcome obstacles that teachers might encounter. The findings could be used to guide professional development based on teachers’ perspectives and classroom experiences to better meet their needs because they are the key to more productive technology integration. Such support is needed to help teachers realize the potential of digital technology to transform literacy learning and prepare young children to be literate in the 21st century.

Historically, American schools have reflected the larger societal structures. When crises occur across the nation, they seep into the classroom and impact the educational experiences of students. Scholars and social advocates have worked across professional arenas throughout history to reduce the injustices embedded in schools. Ongoing discussion and debate about educational equity in schools highlights the importance of an educational system that works for all learners. In more contemporary times, American schools are experiencing overlapping crises. These crises consist of the teacher well-being crisis, the school discipline crisis, and the crisis of the COVID-19 pandemic. The purpose of the proposed study is to examine the intersection of these three crises by exploring the relationship between teacher early childhood well-being and equitable educational practices in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. The study utilizes a convergent design that includes both quantitative and qualitative data gathered sequentially. The quantitative data examined the association between early childhood teachers' feelings of efficacy in culturally responsive instruction and their emotional state as it relates to their profession. The qualitative data explored how early childhood teachers make sense of culturally responsive teaching and classroom management. The two forms of data were combined to better understand the three current crises impacting schools. Participants in the survey data collection included a total of 88 early childhood teachers (pre-kindergarten through third grade) working during the 2020-2021 academic school year. Qualitative interview data were gathered from a subsample of those early childhood teachers (n=11) via phone interviews. Qualitative findings revealed that teachers generally had a superficial understanding of culturally responsive teaching and culturally responsive classroom management (CRT-CRCM), although some expressed a desire to learn more. Quantitative results indicated that teachers' self-reported beliefs and ability in CRT-CRCM did not relate to their self-reported well-being. However, access to professional development was associated with well-being, suggesting a potential mechanism for cultivating greater CRT-CRCM skills in teachers while also supporting their well-being. I intend for the results of this study to contribute to the nascent literature regarding the needs of our nation’s teachers during this unprecedented time. / School Psychology

No description available.

This study examined the partnerships of three mentor/protege teacher dyads in early childhood education. Particular attention was paid to the impact of the relationship on the job satisfaction and teaching practices of the participants. Quantitative data were gathered through the Early Childhood Job Satisfaction Survey and through the Teaching Practices Observation Scale. Qualitative data were gathered through the use of in-depth interviews and teacher journals. Findings support the conclusion that mentoring partnerships can provide for enhanced professional development for all participants when a strong personal connection can be forged. Strategies for effective mentoring programs are suggested. / Master of Science

Since 2011, the state of Oregon has embarked on a comprehensive educational policy change to create a unified birth to twenty educational system. As part of the birth to age five early childhood and family investment strategy, mandated participation in Oregon professional development system is required for all early childhood educators working in Office of Child Care licensed programs. To date, research on early childhood educators' experience in professional development systems has focused primarily on experiences with regulatory systems. This hermeneutic phenomenological study explored how four early childhood educators made meaning of their experiences of professional engagement in Oregon's state professional development system. As a researcher-participant, I conducted a two-part interview with these early childhood educators. First, we revisited the experience of the professional development journey in collage, followed by narrative semi-structured interviews. The researcher employed Dahlberg's (2006) concept of "bridling the experience" (p. 16) as a way to develop an understanding of early childhood educators' professional practice and the intersection between practice and professional engagement in Oregon's professional development system for childhood care and education. The collage and narrative dialogues illuminated the essence of each individual's experience. Experiences such as the intersection of personal professional self, acts of professional engagement, and the emotional nature of participants' work all emerged from the collage and interview process. Three essential themes emerged from the data interpretation and discussion, namely, (a)Personal and Professional Self: Intertwining Personal Experience and Professional Identity, (b)Curves Ahead: Maneuvering Rivers, Roads, and Paths, and (c)The Journey and the System are Asynchronous: "You Guys Figure that Out, Good Luck." Through the emergence of essential themes, participants demonstrated that their experiences while unique also shared common characteristics of what it means to be an early childhood educator in Oregon living with policy in the classroom. It is now the turn of policy makers and program managers of Oregon's professional development system to recognize the strength and wisdom of the voices in the early childhood classroom.

Text in Afrikaans / Educational Studies / M.Ed.

This research explores parent-teacher consultations in a range of early years settings. Data were collected from eighteen audio-recorded parent-teacher consultations from six different settings and from follow up interviews with parents and teachers. The data related to the consultations and participants’ direct experience of these and revealed the practices of power within these consultations. Using a Foucauldian approach to analysis, the exercise of power and its impact on the parent-teacher relationship was explored. The analysis revealed the ways in which surveillance, normalising judgements and the ‘examination’ of all involved in the reporting process to parents, constitutes an exercise of power. Within the consultation parents, teachers and children are positioned as subjects who are homogenised and judged accordingly. Conversely, the presentation of observations and assessment information leads to the individualisation of children, allowing classifications and comparisons to be made in relation to a particular set of ‘truths’ about what it is to be a child, a parent and a teacher. Throughout the consultations parents and teachers assert and defend their positions and in doing so, attempts at resistance are evident. The findings of the research open up new possibilities for challenging existing modes of practice in parent-teacher consultations. These include implications for initial teacher education and CPD programmes, in order to develop awareness of the way in which power is exercised through parent-teacher interactions and the effects it can have. The need for policy makers to take greater account of the exercise of power when developing policies in relation to partnership with parents, and indeed in evaluating the impact of existing policy is also identified.