Thesis (Ph. D.)--Florida State University, 2004. / Advisor: Dr. Charles H. Wolfgang, Florida State University, College of Education, Dept. of Elementary and Early Childhood Education. Title and description from dissertation home page (viewed Sept. 23, 2004). Includes bibliographical references.

The purpose of the study was to examine beginning preschool teachers' conceptions of teaching young children and their perceptions of the origins of these ideas. The participants were six preschool teachers employed during their first two years after graduating with A.S. degrees in early childhood education from five different two-year colleges. This qualitative multi-case study used observations, videotapes, and in-depth interviews to collect data about the experiences of the six teachers. The Ethnograph (Seidel, 1988) software program was employed to manage the data. An adapted model of pedagogical content knowledge, as described in the literature on teacher knowledge (Shulman, 1986; Grossman 1990), was used to organize the data along a learning-to-teach continuum, as described in the teacher socialization literature (Feiman-Nemser, 1983; Zeichner & Gore, 1990). This continuum begins with early experiences, progresses through formal teacher education, and continues throughout a teacher's career. The major findings of the study indicate earlier experiences provided the teachers with predispositions toward particular curriculum content and interactional styles. Their conceptualization of what and how to teach to young children was developed and enriched during formal teacher education with coursework contributing primarily to curricular knowledge. Practicum experiences, including opportunities to bring on-campus learnings into settings for young children, were a major source of the development of instructional strategies. A combination of coursework and direct experiences with children of varying ages and in various contexts contributed to the teachers' overall understanding of children. The teachers reported learning from colleagues, trying things out, and "just being with children" as rich sources of practical knowledge (Elbaz, 1981) during their early years of professional experience. Both explicit and implicit connections were made between how knowledge was gained during these induction years and the content and process of their formal teacher education programs, as well as with their prior experiences. This study, in contrast to previous studies of preschool teachers, provides descriptive data of the substance and process of five early childhood teacher education programs from the perspectives of their graduates. Insights were thus gained into the aspects of the teacher preparation experiences the teachers found have made valuable contributions to their present work.

The purpose of this study is to understand the attitudes of pre-service teachers, who are studying at the departments of early childhood education in universities in Turkey, towards the profession of early childhood education. Specifically, this study investigated the effect of sex and gender role on the attitudes of pre-service early childhood teachers. The sample of this study includes 1528 participants from 11 different state universities of Turkey. 278 of them are male pre-service teachers and 1250 of them are female pre-service teachers. The data were collected through two different scales, Turkish version of Bem Sex Role Inventory (Kavuncu, 1987) and Attitude Scale Related to Teaching Profession (Erkus et al., 2000). Additionally, a demographic information form was also sent to the participants. The data were analyzed through PASW. Results of the study indicated that there was no interaction effect between sex and gender role, however main effects of sex and gender role was significant. Two-way between-groups ANOVA results indicated that there is a significant difference among female and male pre-service teachers in the total attitude score. However, the difference was small according to Cohen&rsquo / s (1988) criterion. Furthermore, statistical analysis also indicated that there is a mean difference between masculine pre-service teachers and the other three groups of gender roles which were feminine, androgynous and undifferentiated. Results of the current study suggest that the following implications. First, the findings indicated that gender role is more influencing than sex in developing attitudes towards the profession of ECE. Additionally, there is no interaction effect between sex and gender role on attitudes towards the profession of ECE.

Thesis (Ed. D.)--Illinois State University, 1993. / Title from title page screen, viewed February 10, 2006. Dissertation Committee: Lanny Morreau (chair), Jeffrey B. Hecht, Maribeth N. Lartz, Jeanne B. Morris, William C. Rau, Keith E. Stearns. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 169-186) and abstract. Also available in print.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Ohio State University, 2007. / Full text release at OhioLINK's ETD Center delayed at author's request

Thesis (M. Ed.)--University of Hong Kong, 1998. / Includes bibliographical references (leaf 95-96).

Thesis (M.Ed.)--University of Hong Kong, 1998. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 95-96). Also available in print.

The study used Social Cultural Theory as an analytical framework to understand the professional preparation of kindergarten teachers in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA). A multi-method approach to data collection was adopted, involving a questionnaire, interviews and documentary analysis of both the pre-school curriculum in KSA and the programme content. Both qualitative and quantitative approaches were therefore employed to achieve the research objectives. The research methodology was based on the interpretive approach and included a case study. The participants were student-teachers studying on the four-year teacher training programme at one of the universities in KSA. Responses to four hundred and nineteen questionnaires completed by student-teachers across the four years of the programme were analysed, and a detailed case study involving 32 student-teachers was carried out. These student-teachers were interviewed three times each over three terms, with a focus on the nature of their knowledge and beliefs. The quantitative and qualitative data were analysed using SPSS to summarise the results of the closed questions in the questionnaire and to compare the differences between the student-teachers’ perspectives in each study year. All interviews were taped and transcribed. The data were coded and recoded several times using the continuous comparative process. When broad categories/themes emerged, these created sub-categories. Similarly, the data gained from the questionnaire’s open-ended questions were also analysed qualitatively. The findings focus on the results from the questionnaire for each study year, followed by a direct comparison of student-teachers’ knowledge and beliefs across the four years. The findings from the interviews with student-teachers are presented separately for each study year in order that the development of their knowledge and beliefs over the four-year programme can be seen. The findings revealed that student-teachers’ beliefs and their knowledge were closely linked. Although student-teachers’ knowledge developed as a result of their learning, some of their beliefs about Early Childhood Education (ECE) in general seemed to remain stable over the period of their university course. Many factors influenced the training of the student-teacher within Saudi culture and practices, such as the cultural context, the society, national policy, religion, module content, styles of teaching, visits to kindergarten, self-learning, and others’ knowledge/experience and support. These others included friends, other student-teachers, and relatives who were studying on the kindergarten programme or worked in the field of ECE. The findings showed that student-teachers built their teaching identities on the wider social-cultural purposes of education in Saudi society, which were consistent with expectations of their roles in society. However, various constraints related to the university context, to the kindergarten context and to the social-cultural context influenced their preparation as teachers. The study indicated many limitations to the current apprenticeship approach, due to the predominantly transmissive style of education at university. Student-teachers were not progressively immersed in a more fully developed apprenticeship model in which teachers learnt about the cultures and practices of ECE within the contexts of practice. This study strongly challenges a system where student-teachers only have one term of teaching practice. It is argued that teaching practice should start much earlier in the programme and be extended. A model for developing professional preparation programmes of Initial Teachers (IT) in the field of ECE is presented. Implications arising from this study and recommendations which could improve Teacher Education (TE) in KSA are outlined. Finally, suggestions for further research are presented.

Esta tese investiga os sentidos atribuídos ao lugar profissional da professora de educação infantil. Parte da constatação de que um número elevado de professoras que prestou concurso para atuar com crianças desta etapa da educação já não está trabalhando em escolas de educação infantil. A pesquisa buscou compreender, a partir das trajetórias profissionais das professoras da Rede Municipal de Ensino (RME) de Porto Alegre no período da primeira expansão do atendimento à educação infantil na cidade, as marcas de profissionalidade presentes em suas narrativas ao contarem sobre seus percursos. O período de expansão da educação infantil na cidade e no país historicamente se coloca como a fase em que ocorrem os primeiros movimentos de organização do atendimento às crianças no âmbito da educação. É um período de definições e mudanças paradigmáticas na educação infantil, que institui a especificidade do trabalho desenvolvido nessa etapa e, com isso, começa a configurar e delinear o lugar profissional dos professores das crianças. Escolho como interlocutoras as professoras de educação infantil porque considero que o ponto de vista das profissionais pode trazer à cena a perspectiva de quem está protagonizando a aventura de estabelecer esse lugar profissional. A intenção é conhecer, a partir dos sentidos atribuídos às suas trajetórias profissionais, os desenhos possíveis e os direcionamentos cabíveis na constituição dessa profissão que não é mais um grupo de professores, mas a disposição de outro modo de ser professor, de atuar como docente e de organizar uma escola. Os contextos abordados, e que se constituíram como eixos de reflexão na pesquisa dos processos profissionais dessas professoras, são os lugares de formação, as condições de produção de suas trajetórias, o desenvolvimento profissional e a profissão de professora de educação infantil. Os estudos indicaram que os processos de produção das trajetórias profissionais na educação infantil apresentam um caráter de desbravamento, criador de um novo jeito de estar na escola, de ser professora e de organizar o trabalho docente. Nesse sentido, a pesquisa assume que esses percursos de constituição profissional que vêm sendo descobertos se constituem em trilhas traçadas em um terreno ainda em constituição. O desenho do trabalho docente se dá no tensionamento entre o cuidado como atitude profissional e a cultura do trabalho assistencial, por um lado, e o tensionamento entre a educação e a gramática escolar instituída, por outro. O lugar profissional das professoras flutua no engendramento das condições institucionais e das escolhas pessoais possibilitadas pelos contextos de vida. / This thesis investigates the meanings attributed to the professional place of teachers in early childhood education. It has been found that a large number of teachers who have entered a contest to work with children at this stage of education are no longer working in preschools. Based on the professional lives of teachers in the Rede Municipal de Ensino (RME) of Porto Alegre during the first expansion of this service in the city, the research tried to understand the marks of professionalism revealed in the narratives about their careers. Historically, the expansion of early childhood education both locally and nationally is the stage of the first movements towards the organisation of childcare and education. It is a time of definitions and paradigmatic shifts in early childhood education which establishes the specificity of the work developed at this stage, and as such, begins to configure and delineate the professional place of children’s teachers. The interlocutors I have chosen are early childhood education women teachers because I believe these professionals’ points of view can reveal the opinions of the ones truly venturing into the establishment of this professional place. My intention is to depict, from the meanings attributed to their professional paths, the possible outline, the reasonable direction towards the making of a profession which is no longer constituted of a group of teachers, but of a readiness to a different way of being a teacher, of working as an educator, and of organising a school. The contexts approached, in themselves axes of reflexion in the research about these teachers’ professional processes, are training centres, the conditions of their careers, their professional development, and the profession of being an early childhood education teacher. Studies have shown that career production processes in early childhood education suggest some sort of clearing work , the creation of a new way of being in the school, of being a teacher and of organising teaching. In that sense, the research assumes that the construction of such professional paths is like trails drawn in land still to be discovered. The conception of teaching arises from the tension between care as a professional attitude and the culture of social work on the one side, and the tension between education and preestablished school grammar on the other side. The teachers’ place fluctuates within the engendering of institutional conditions and the personal choices made possible by their life contexts. / Esta tesis investiga los sentidos atribuidos al espacio profesional de la profesora de educación infantil. Parte de la constatación de que un número elevado de profesoras que se habilitaron por concurso para actuar con niños en esta fase de la educación ya no están trabajando en escuelas de educación infantil. La investigación buscó comprender, a partir de las trayectorias profesionales de las profesoras de la Red Municipal de Enseñanza (RME) de Porto Alegre en el periodo de la primera expansión del atendimiento a la educación infantil en la ciudad, las huellas de profesionalidad presentes en sus narrativas cuando cuentan sobre sus carreras. El periodo de expansión de la educación infantil en Porto Alegre y en el país se alza como la fase en que ocurren los primeros movimientos de organización del atendimiento a los niños en el ámbito de la educación. Es un periodo de definiciones y cambios paradigmáticos en la educación infantil, que instituye la especificidad del trabajo desarrollado en esta etapa y, con ello, empieza a configurar y delinear el lugar profesional de las profesoras de los niños. Elijo como interlocutoras las profesoras de educación infantil, porque considero que el punto de vista de estas profesionales puede traer a la escena la perspectiva de quien está protagonizando la aventura de establecer ese lugar profesional. La intención es conocer, a partir de los sentidos otorgados a sus trayectorias profesionales, los diseños posibles, los direccionamientos adecuados en la constitución de de esa profesión, que no es solamente un grupo de profesores, sino la disposición de otro modo de ser profesor, de actuar como docente y de organizar una escuela. Los contextos abordados, y que se constituyeron como ejes de razonamiento en la investigación de los procesos profesionales de esas profesoras, son los lugares de formación, las condiciones de producción de sus trayectorias, el desarrollo profesional y la profesión de profesora de educación infantil. Los estudios indicaron que los procesos de producción de las trayectorias profesionales en la educación infantil presentan un carácter de exploración creadora de un nuevo modo de estar en la escuela, de ser profesora y de organizar el trabajo docente. En ese sentido, la investigación asume que estos recorridos de constitución profesional que se vienen descubriendo se constituyen en senderos trazados en un terreno todavía en constitución. El diseño del trabajo docente se da en la tensión que se establece entre el cuidado como actitud profesional y la cultura del trabajo asistencial, por un lado, y entre la educación y la gramática escolar instituida, por otro lado. El lugar profesional de las profesoras flota en el engendramiento de las condiciones institucionales y de las elecciones personales posibilitadas por los contextos de vida.

Esta tese investiga os sentidos atribuídos ao lugar profissional da professora de educação infantil. Parte da constatação de que um número elevado de professoras que prestou concurso para atuar com crianças desta etapa da educação já não está trabalhando em escolas de educação infantil. A pesquisa buscou compreender, a partir das trajetórias profissionais das professoras da Rede Municipal de Ensino (RME) de Porto Alegre no período da primeira expansão do atendimento à educação infantil na cidade, as marcas de profissionalidade presentes em suas narrativas ao contarem sobre seus percursos. O período de expansão da educação infantil na cidade e no país historicamente se coloca como a fase em que ocorrem os primeiros movimentos de organização do atendimento às crianças no âmbito da educação. É um período de definições e mudanças paradigmáticas na educação infantil, que institui a especificidade do trabalho desenvolvido nessa etapa e, com isso, começa a configurar e delinear o lugar profissional dos professores das crianças. Escolho como interlocutoras as professoras de educação infantil porque considero que o ponto de vista das profissionais pode trazer à cena a perspectiva de quem está protagonizando a aventura de estabelecer esse lugar profissional. A intenção é conhecer, a partir dos sentidos atribuídos às suas trajetórias profissionais, os desenhos possíveis e os direcionamentos cabíveis na constituição dessa profissão que não é mais um grupo de professores, mas a disposição de outro modo de ser professor, de atuar como docente e de organizar uma escola. Os contextos abordados, e que se constituíram como eixos de reflexão na pesquisa dos processos profissionais dessas professoras, são os lugares de formação, as condições de produção de suas trajetórias, o desenvolvimento profissional e a profissão de professora de educação infantil. Os estudos indicaram que os processos de produção das trajetórias profissionais na educação infantil apresentam um caráter de desbravamento, criador de um novo jeito de estar na escola, de ser professora e de organizar o trabalho docente. Nesse sentido, a pesquisa assume que esses percursos de constituição profissional que vêm sendo descobertos se constituem em trilhas traçadas em um terreno ainda em constituição. O desenho do trabalho docente se dá no tensionamento entre o cuidado como atitude profissional e a cultura do trabalho assistencial, por um lado, e o tensionamento entre a educação e a gramática escolar instituída, por outro. O lugar profissional das professoras flutua no engendramento das condições institucionais e das escolhas pessoais possibilitadas pelos contextos de vida. / This thesis investigates the meanings attributed to the professional place of teachers in early childhood education. It has been found that a large number of teachers who have entered a contest to work with children at this stage of education are no longer working in preschools. Based on the professional lives of teachers in the Rede Municipal de Ensino (RME) of Porto Alegre during the first expansion of this service in the city, the research tried to understand the marks of professionalism revealed in the narratives about their careers. Historically, the expansion of early childhood education both locally and nationally is the stage of the first movements towards the organisation of childcare and education. It is a time of definitions and paradigmatic shifts in early childhood education which establishes the specificity of the work developed at this stage, and as such, begins to configure and delineate the professional place of children’s teachers. The interlocutors I have chosen are early childhood education women teachers because I believe these professionals’ points of view can reveal the opinions of the ones truly venturing into the establishment of this professional place. My intention is to depict, from the meanings attributed to their professional paths, the possible outline, the reasonable direction towards the making of a profession which is no longer constituted of a group of teachers, but of a readiness to a different way of being a teacher, of working as an educator, and of organising a school. The contexts approached, in themselves axes of reflexion in the research about these teachers’ professional processes, are training centres, the conditions of their careers, their professional development, and the profession of being an early childhood education teacher. Studies have shown that career production processes in early childhood education suggest some sort of clearing work , the creation of a new way of being in the school, of being a teacher and of organising teaching. In that sense, the research assumes that the construction of such professional paths is like trails drawn in land still to be discovered. The conception of teaching arises from the tension between care as a professional attitude and the culture of social work on the one side, and the tension between education and preestablished school grammar on the other side. The teachers’ place fluctuates within the engendering of institutional conditions and the personal choices made possible by their life contexts. / Esta tesis investiga los sentidos atribuidos al espacio profesional de la profesora de educación infantil. Parte de la constatación de que un número elevado de profesoras que se habilitaron por concurso para actuar con niños en esta fase de la educación ya no están trabajando en escuelas de educación infantil. La investigación buscó comprender, a partir de las trayectorias profesionales de las profesoras de la Red Municipal de Enseñanza (RME) de Porto Alegre en el periodo de la primera expansión del atendimiento a la educación infantil en la ciudad, las huellas de profesionalidad presentes en sus narrativas cuando cuentan sobre sus carreras. El periodo de expansión de la educación infantil en Porto Alegre y en el país se alza como la fase en que ocurren los primeros movimientos de organización del atendimiento a los niños en el ámbito de la educación. Es un periodo de definiciones y cambios paradigmáticos en la educación infantil, que instituye la especificidad del trabajo desarrollado en esta etapa y, con ello, empieza a configurar y delinear el lugar profesional de las profesoras de los niños. Elijo como interlocutoras las profesoras de educación infantil, porque considero que el punto de vista de estas profesionales puede traer a la escena la perspectiva de quien está protagonizando la aventura de establecer ese lugar profesional. La intención es conocer, a partir de los sentidos otorgados a sus trayectorias profesionales, los diseños posibles, los direccionamientos adecuados en la constitución de de esa profesión, que no es solamente un grupo de profesores, sino la disposición de otro modo de ser profesor, de actuar como docente y de organizar una escuela. Los contextos abordados, y que se constituyeron como ejes de razonamiento en la investigación de los procesos profesionales de esas profesoras, son los lugares de formación, las condiciones de producción de sus trayectorias, el desarrollo profesional y la profesión de profesora de educación infantil. Los estudios indicaron que los procesos de producción de las trayectorias profesionales en la educación infantil presentan un carácter de exploración creadora de un nuevo modo de estar en la escuela, de ser profesora y de organizar el trabajo docente. En ese sentido, la investigación asume que estos recorridos de constitución profesional que se vienen descubriendo se constituyen en senderos trazados en un terreno todavía en constitución. El diseño del trabajo docente se da en la tensión que se establece entre el cuidado como actitud profesional y la cultura del trabajo asistencial, por un lado, y entre la educación y la gramática escolar instituida, por otro lado. El lugar profesional de las profesoras flota en el engendramiento de las condiciones institucionales y de las elecciones personales posibilitadas por los contextos de vida.