<p> The young adolescent learner is in a unique and distinctive phase of development, and as such requires a developmentally responsive educational program delivered by specially prepared middle level educators. The purpose of this qualitative mixed methods study was to compare current California policies for middle school teacher licensure and preparation programs with the most recent research on young adolescent development. A second purpose of this study was to investigate the design and implementation of middle school specific teacher preparation programs in California in relation to the most recent research on young adolescent development. </p><p> The findings of this study indicate that the young adolescent student is in a unique phase of development, which requires a specialized developmentally responsive educational program, delivered by specifically prepared teachers. The evidence further demonstrates that strong middle level teacher preparation programs, such as the program at CSU San Marcos, are designed to prepare teachers to address these complex developmental needs of the young adolescent student. An additional finding was that the current California teacher licensure and preparation requirements have not kept pace with the research on the young adolescent learner and are thereby misaligned with the best practices determined for this age group. A restructuring of the policies for California teacher licensure and preparation requirements to align with the research on best practices for the young adolescent learner is recommended. </p><p> The voluminous body of research on the young adolescent learner consistently demonstrates the need for developmentally responsive schools staffed by specially prepared middle level educators. The current licensing and teacher preparation systems in place in California are poorly coordinated with known best practices and, are failing to meet the needs of the middle level learner. There is a need for restructuring of schooling for the young adolescent learner in California, including the method for preparing and licensing teachers for the middle level, in order to provide developmentally responsive schools.</p>

Within the last decade, the pressures of implementing state mandated early learning guidelines and meeting the requirements from federal, state and local agencies, have taken their toll on many preschool programs. In the present study, preschool programs were given a chance to voice their opinions about how curriculum standards and other external mandates were directly and indirectly influencing curriculum planning, teaching practices, and child activity. A brief survey was sent to 90 preschool directors in a region in Massachusetts, 28 directors completed this survey. A sample of nine directors, from the survey respondents, volunteered to be interviewed. In two separate interviews the researcher asked a series of questions to obtain data from the participants. These interview questions focused on how the participants made sense of the mandatory integration of early learning standards and other external mandates into their preschool program and their concerns based on their role as a preschool director. The results of the study revealed that external guidelines set forth by the state and federal government were a great concern to the preschool directors. These directors agreed that curriculum mandates were necessary yet the amount of work, time and expenditure needed to meet the demands of these mandates could be quite overwhelming. Concerns were particularly relevant in the areas of obtaining or maintaining NAEYC accreditation and the push for a standardized curriculum and/or a standardized assessment tool. To receive specific types of funding, a program must be using a standardized assessment tool. Many funding sources also require that a program be accredited by NAEYC. The financial and physical expense of both of these requirements was prohibitive. The results were analyzed with respect to child development and early childhood education principles. The findings indicated that curriculum mandates focused primarily on young children's cognitive development to the detriment of social and emotional competence. The findings also indicated that children were being pressured to spend more time on narrow academic skills and less time on play. Yet play has been found to provide children with opportunities to interact socially, express and control emotions, and develop symbolic thinking skills (Nicolopoulou, 2010).

The purpose of this study is to describe the multicultural curricula that are currently being offered to prospective elementary teachers for promoting learning for diverse students. First, multicultural courses that exist in selected elementary teacher preparation programs are identified and described. Second, perceptions of teacher educators toward the importance of the role of multicultural education in the preparation of elementary school teachers is reported. Specifically, the following research questions guide the nature of the study: (1) What courses in multicultural education are part of the teacher education curriculum for elementary teacher certification in selected institutions of higher education? (2) What do teacher educators consider as the main reasons for including or excluding multicultural education in the elementary teacher preparation program? (3) What recommendations do teacher educators suggest for improving the multicultural education of their elementary teacher preparation program? This study is significant because it brings into sharp focus the multicultural curricula that are currently being offered to prospective elementary teachers. Additionally, the study reports the perceptions of teacher educators toward the importance of multicultural education in the preparation of elementary school teachers. Seven diverse colleges and universities provided the data on multicultural courses. Twenty-one teacher educators from these participating institutions reported their perceptions toward the importance of multicultural education to the preparation of elementary teachers. The analysis of data on multicultural courses and perceptions of teacher educators revealed that there was significant difference between the way teacher educators perceived the importance of multicultural education and the way multicultural courses were actually offered to prospective elementary teachers. In six of the participating institutions of higher education, multicultural education was offered as topics or units within already existing Foundations courses. Only one university offered a separate multicultural education course as a part of its elementary teacher education program. It is reasonable to conclude from this study that whenever a new issue in student learning and curriculum emerges, too often the curriculum to prepare prospective teachers responds by adapting existing courses rather than by considering a curriculum reform that may include new courses. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)

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