Seeking justice through social action projects: Preparing teachers to be social actors in local and global problems

2018 ◽  
Vol 16 (6) ◽  
pp. 691-708 ◽  
Author(s):  
Martha J Lash ◽  
Janice Kroeger
Keyword(s):  
Teacher Education ◽  
Preservice Teachers ◽  
Early Childhood ◽  
Social Action ◽  
International Baccalaureate ◽  
Teacher Education Program ◽  
Practical Experience ◽  
Early Childhood Teacher ◽  
The Social ◽  
Action Projects

In this article, we share a social action process useful in teacher education and derived from a decade of practical experience with social action projects. Influences, theoretical underpinnings, and individual leadership in an early childhood teacher education program are considered alongside practical enactments of social action projects by preservice teachers in their licensure program. One particular type of field-based assignment, the social action project, is described and analyzed. An examination of program transformations expanding the social justice framework to include more global perspectives, such as the International Baccalaureate Primary Years Program, shaped and challenged our earlier notions of working to address isms to frame justice and advocate for children in larger social and educational networks. We suggest what social action should and can entail in teacher education for an interdependent world and offer a gradient of social action for justice in early childhood education practices and environments.

“If Not Me, Then Who?”

2018 ◽  
pp. 1-22
Author(s):  
Elizabeth Ann Ethridge ◽  
Vickie E. Lake ◽  
Amber H. Beisly
Keyword(s):  
Teacher Education ◽  
Preservice Teachers ◽  
Early Childhood ◽  
Mixed Methods ◽  
Service Learning ◽  
Education Program ◽  
Teacher Education Program ◽  
Early Childhood Teacher ◽  
Agents Of Change ◽  
Sense Of Power

Research has indicated that teachers typically do not view themselves as advocates for many reasons such as fear of personal and professional risk (Peters & Reid, 2009). Participants include both preservice teachers and graduates of an early childhood teacher education program. This chapter addresses how the program utilized intentional assignments and group and individual scaffolding as preservice teachers moved from experiencing service learning to pure advocacy. Through a mixed methods study, preservice teachers began to see themselves as agents of change with increased confidence and sense of power. These transformations continued as graduates of the program reported they were still engaging in advocacy.

scholarly journals Changing Learning Ecologies in Early Childhood Teacher Education: From Technology to stem Learning

2019 ◽  
Vol 1 (2-3) ◽  
pp. 488-506 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xinyun Hu ◽  
Nicola Yelland
Keyword(s):  
Teacher Education ◽  
Preservice Teachers ◽  
Early Childhood ◽  
Education Program ◽  
New Technologies ◽  
Teacher Education Program ◽  
Early Childhood Teacher ◽  
Pedagogical Practices ◽  
Early Childhood Teacher Education ◽  
Learning Ecologies

This review examines the design cycles of innovation in response to changing policy, technological and practical imperatives. It begins with the initial creation of an information and communication technology course in an early childhood teacher education program and describes its evolution into a contemporary topic. Program changes occur because of policy-driven trends, including the expansion of the definition of what constitutes technology and the incorporation of innovations into curricula and pedagogical practices. We characterize these changes in three design cycles. In the first cycle, courses to prepare preservice teachers for early childhood centers focused primarily on computer-based skills. In the second cycle, new technologies were integrated into the curricula and teaching programs and incorporated into the practicum. In the third cycle, the principles and practices inherent to science, technology, engineering and mathematics (stem) education were adopted to extend the role of new technologies in contemporary curricula and pedagogies. These new learning ecologies were characterized by the application of inter-disciplinary knowledge in authentic learning contexts. The reviewed case studies included students in three new technologies course projects in an early childhood teacher education program. The findings revealed that early childhood preservice teachers expected more opportunities to practice and apply new technologies in innovative learning spaces focused on stem learning. Furthermore, they believed that university teacher education courses should be applicable to practice-based contexts. The implications of this review inform the process of change in the design of teacher education programs from technology-based learning to the pedagogical innovations needed to prepare future teachers. It illustrates that new technologies for learning should consider changing learning ecologies in their design and implementation, and should support early childhood teachers in understanding and using child-centered pedagogical approaches.

“If Not Me, Then Who?”

2019 ◽  
pp. 1264-1285
Author(s):  
Elizabeth Ann Ethridge ◽  
Vickie E. Lake ◽  
Amber H. Beisly
Keyword(s):  
Teacher Education ◽  
Preservice Teachers ◽  
Early Childhood ◽  
Mixed Methods ◽  
Service Learning ◽  
Education Program ◽  
Teacher Education Program ◽  
Early Childhood Teacher ◽  
Agents Of Change ◽  
Sense Of Power

Research has indicated that teachers typically do not view themselves as advocates for many reasons such as fear of personal and professional risk (Peters & Reid, 2009). Participants include both preservice teachers and graduates of an early childhood teacher education program. This chapter addresses how the program utilized intentional assignments and group and individual scaffolding as preservice teachers moved from experiencing service learning to pure advocacy. Through a mixed methods study, preservice teachers began to see themselves as agents of change with increased confidence and sense of power. These transformations continued as graduates of the program reported they were still engaging in advocacy.

scholarly journals Public Health and Early Childhood Education: An Analysis of Chinese Pre-service Teachers’ Reflections During the COVID-19 Pandemic

2021 ◽  
Vol 6 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wing Yee Lo
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Teacher Education ◽  
Early Childhood ◽  
Health Education ◽  
Teacher Education Program ◽  
Public Health Education ◽  
Early Childhood Teacher ◽  
Personal Hygiene ◽  
Public Health Perspective ◽  
Teachers Beliefs

The purpose of this study was to investigate Chinese pre-service kindergarten teachers’ beliefs and behaviors inherent to a public health perspective in the time of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic. The study intended to deepen our understanding of the contextual factors that may influence their future implementation of public health education in early childhood settings. Forty-five participants were recruited from an early childhood teacher education program, with the majority (n = 41) reporting that they lived through the strict restrictions in different regions of China during the initial COVID-19 outbreak. Data were collected via a reflective writing task from an online course. The results indicated an increasing awareness of public health among the participants due to the COVID-19 crisis. Their personal hygiene behaviors included personal protection, cleaning, disinfection, physical distancing, avoidance, and ventilation. The pandemic also changed pre-service teachers’ beliefs about the importance of public health education. Although the participants seemed to have positive attitudes toward public health education, evidence of their limitations of knowledge and skills was further exposed in their ideas for teaching health-related topics. When there is a need to strengthen public health education in the ongoing fight against COVID-19, this paper calls for a refocus in pre-service teacher education to improve public health outcomes for young children.

Neoliberal technological devices and articulations of teaching young children: A case study of preservice teachers using iPads in their teacher education program

2018 ◽  
Vol 17 (2) ◽  
pp. 88-103
Author(s):  
Christopher P Brown ◽  
Joanna Englehardt
Keyword(s):  
Teacher Education ◽  
Preservice Teachers ◽  
Early Childhood ◽  
Academic Performance ◽  
Young Children ◽  
Education Program ◽  
Early Education ◽  
Teacher Education Program ◽  
Technology In The Classroom

The global shift toward neoliberalism continues to impact early childhood in numerous ways. One example of this shift is the push by education stakeholders for the incorporation of technology into the teaching of young children. Advocates contend implementing such technology in the classroom will increase children’s academic performance and provide them with the skills needed to attain well-paying jobs in the future. Such rhetoric creates a new set of challenges for early educators who seek to resist this neoliberal shift toward individualism and the framing of education as a process of learning, earning, and consuming. The case study examined in this article begins to address this issue by investigating how utilizing iPads in the process of becoming a teacher affected a sample of preservice teachers’ articulations of their roles as educators. Investigating and analyzing their experiences provides members of the early childhood community with steps they might take to assist early educators in framing their roles as teachers through democratic conceptions of practice that they can then implement within their early education context.

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