Standardizing Latinx early childhood educators: (Un)intended consequences of policy reform to professionalize the workforce

2020 ◽  
Vol 18 (6) ◽  
pp. 725-738
Author(s):  
Leanna Lucero ◽  
Blanca Araujo ◽  
Michelle Salazar Pérez
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Teacher Education ◽  
Early Childhood ◽  
Standardized Testing ◽  
Teacher Education Program ◽  
The United States ◽  
Early Childhood Educators ◽  
Early Years ◽  
Policy Reforms ◽  
The Impact

The field of early childhood and its teacher education programs, globally, have experienced intensified policy reforms to “professionalize” the workforce. This has had (un)intended consequences of standardizing how Latinx preservice educators in the United States have learned about engaging in early years education and care. To discuss the impact of these (un)intended consequences, we first describe the historical context around standardized testing and the policies that support their use for teacher licensure in the United States and New Mexico, where our teacher education program resides. We then problematize these policies and provide examples of approaches used to counter the (un)intended consequences of such reforms. Finally, we make recommendations for future policy reforms that rethink teacher education and licensure programs, so that they value and centralize the often-marginalized knowledge of Latinx early childhood educators and teacher educators.

Performance-Based Assessment in Preparing Teachers

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Drew Polly
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Teacher Education ◽  
Elementary Education ◽  
Teacher Education Program ◽  
The United States ◽  
Teacher Education Programs ◽  
Education Programs ◽  
National Board ◽  
Performance Based Assessment ◽  
Support Teacher

Performance-based assessments are assessments in which learners complete a complex task or series of tasks in order to demonstrate their learning. Originally designed and used with school-aged learners (ages 5 through 18), the use of performance-based assessments gained popularity in the early 2000s as a way to deeply assess learners’ knowledge and skills. The National Board of Professional Teaching Standards has been using performance-based assessments, which include video evidence of teachers, artifacts of student work, and teachers’ written reflections as part of their credentialing process. For individuals seeking their initial teaching license or teaching credential, in the past decade in the United States, teacher education programs have started to use performance-based assessments. The most widely used performance-based assessment in teacher education in the United States is edTPA, an assessment that was either required or used as an option in 37 states at the time this chapter was written. The edTPA assessment, similar to the National Board portfolio, includes video evidence from the teacher candidate’s instruction, lesson plans, artifacts of student learning, and the teacher candidate’s written reflections about their planning, teaching, and assessment of their students. This chapter describes performance-based assessments in teacher education programs, and focuses on how faculty members in one elementary education (students age 5–11) teacher education program revised its curriculum to support teacher candidates’ completion of the edTPA performance-based assessment.

ePortfolio Integration in Teacher Education Programs

2012 ◽  
pp. 250-264 ◽  
Author(s):  
Albert D. Ritzhaupt ◽  
Michele A. Parker ◽  
Abdou Ndoye
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Teacher Education ◽  
Teacher Education Program ◽  
Interaction Model ◽  
The United States ◽  
Electronic Portfolio ◽  
Student Perspective ◽  
Teacher Education Programs ◽  
Education Programs ◽  
Stakeholder Interaction

Though ePortfolios have grown in acceptance by teacher education programs across the United States, there still remain many questions regarding whether the tools are meeting student and teacher education program needs. This chapter will address this concern by first describing ePortfolios within teacher education. Next, the chapter will present a stakeholder interaction model and identify the individuals involved in an ePortfolio system. Then, a series of integration questions will be highlighted from a teacher education perspective. Two teacher education programs’ ePortfolio initiatives are evaluated using the Electronic Portfolio Student Perspective Instrument (EPSPI) (Ritzhaupt, Singh, Seyferth, & Dedrick, 2008) in relation to several integration characteristics. Finally, recommendations to teacher education programs are made.

Botched Executions and the Struggle to End Capital Punishment: A Twentieth-Century Story

2013 ◽  
Vol 38 (03) ◽  
pp. 694-720 ◽  
Author(s):  
Austin Sarat ◽  
Katherine Blumstein ◽  
Aubrey Jones ◽  
Heather Richard ◽  
Madeline Sprung-Keyser ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Twentieth Century ◽  
Capital Punishment ◽  
The United States ◽  
Early Years ◽  
Newspaper Coverage ◽  
The Public ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The Way

Why have accounts of botched executions not played a larger role in the struggle to end capital punishment in the United States? In the twentieth century, when methods of execution became increasingly controlled and sterilized, botched executions would seem to have had real abolitionist potential. This article examines newspaper coverage of botched executions to determine and describe the way they were presented to the public and why they have contributed little to the abolitionist cause. Although botched executions reveal pain, violence, and inhumanity associated with state killing, newspaper coverage of these events neutralizes the impact of that revelation. Throughout the last century, newspapers presented botched executions as misfortunes rather than injustices. We identify three distinct modes by which newspaper coverage neutralized the impact of botched executions and presented them as misfortunes rather than as systemic injustices: (1) the dual narratives of sensationalism and recuperation in the early years of the twentieth century, (2) the decline of sensationalism and the rise of “professionalism” in the middle of the century, and (3) the emphasis on “balanced” reporting toward the end of the century.

scholarly journals The Consequences of Exposure to Violence during Early Childhood

2016 ◽  
pp. 1-6 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dionissi Aliprantis ◽  
Anne Chen
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Early Childhood ◽  
Family Structure ◽  
Household Income ◽  
Exposure To Violence ◽  
Strong Relationship ◽  
Risky Behaviors ◽  
The United States ◽  
Young Males ◽  
The Impact

We investigate the impact that exposure to violence in childhood has on an individual's propensity to engage in risky behaviors later in life and their probability of dying young. We document that black young males in the United States are exposed to much more violence in early childhood than their white counterparts. We also show that exposure to violence has a strong relationship with a host of undesirable later outcomes, and that relationship tends to be the same regardless of race, household income, mother's educational attainment, or family structure.

Vocational Pedagogies for the Formation and Training of Early Childhood Educators: Perspectives of VET Lecturers and Level 5 Early Years Learners

2019 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 81-96
Author(s):  
Rosienne Farrugia
Keyword(s):  
Early Childhood ◽  
Vocational Training ◽  
Role Model ◽  
Early Childhood Educators ◽  
Early Years ◽  
Training Programmes ◽  
The Impact ◽  
And Training ◽  
Pedagogical Approaches

This paper examines the kind of pedagogical approaches used in Higher Vocational Education, more specifically initial training programmes for early-years practitioners, from the perspectives of both VET lecturers and students currently involved or enrolled in these programmes. The focus is on understanding the ways in which the pedagogical models and tools adopted carefully match the requirements for the successful formation of early-years professionals. More specifically, this paper seeks to explore and understand the factors that influence the vocational pedagogical strategies used, the extent to which these pedagogies are learner-centred, the opportunities and challenges that Higher VET lecturers experience in their classrooms when embracing pedagogical innovation, the benefits for learners, as well as the impact on the quality of the training provided. Adopting a grounded theory methodology, with the aim of building theoretical ideas grounded in the data, two main data collection methods were used: one-to-one semi-structured interviews with a group of VET lecturers and a focus group with a group of Level 5 early-years learners who at the time of the study were in the process of completing the two-year higher diploma. Through a process involving inductive-abductive logic and the constant comparison, coding, and analysis of the data, a theoretical model of vocational pedagogies for the training and formation of early childhood educators emerged. The findings indicate the need for clear pedagogical direction and informed choices to be made individually and collectively by the team of lecturers teaching the programme; this requires the presence of an ethos and climate of critical reflective practice and life-long learning through the creation or seeking of opportunities for continuous professional development. Its relevance becomes more pronounced in the context of a training programme that prepares future educators as there is a greater application of the pedagogy used at higher vocational training level for its transfer to early-years classrooms and settings. The role of the VET lecturer as a role model is highlighted as being significant in the formation and training of early childhood educators by both sets of participants. The current pedagogical picture portrays a situation where different lecturers adopt different pedagogical approaches that range from the traditional, teacher-focused ones to more innovative, participatory, and practice-based strategies. There is a consensus about the validity of adopting more learner-centred, hands-on pedagogical approaches though this is usually influenced by contextual, cultural-historical, and philosophical factors. The topical debate on professionalizing the Early Years sector is also reflected in the data and seems to influence expectations that both lecturers and learners have on the quality of the programme and the need for more focused exploration of effective vocational pedagogies. The importance of a strategic plan on the relevance and advancement of the teaching and learning practices within the vocational training programmes is highlighted.

OP388 17-Year Disease Reduction Predicted By A Transmission Dynamic Model After Pneumococcal Conjugate Vaccine Introduction In The United States

2020 ◽  
Vol 36 (S1) ◽  
pp. 7-8
Author(s):  
Sonya Snedecor
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Conjugate Vaccine ◽  
Pneumococcal Conjugate Vaccine ◽  
Vaccine Coverage ◽  
The United States ◽  
Early Years ◽  
Surveillance Data ◽  
Model Parameters ◽  
Transmission Dynamic ◽  
The Impact

IntroductionAfter the introduction of the seven-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV7) in the United States (US) in the year 2000, the incidence of invasive pneumococcal disease (IPD) caused by the seven vaccine serotypes declined by 80 percent in vaccinated children and 30 percent in unvaccinated adults. A transmission dynamic equation model developed in 2009 captured the direct and indirect effects of vaccination in the early years after vaccination. Subsequently, the vaccine program switched to the 13-valent PCV and adult PCV13 vaccination. This work explores the accuracy of the mathematical model to predict long-term IPD due to changes in US immunization practices.MethodsThe model simulates the acquisition of asymptomatic carriage of pneumococci and the development of IPD among individuals aged <2, 2–4, 5–17, 18–49, 50–64, and ≥65 years. Pneumococcal serotypes were stratified into three categories: PCV7-type (4, 6B, 9V, 14, 18C, 19F, and 23F), PCV6-type (1, 3, 5, 6A, 7F, and 19A), and non-PCV-type (all others). Model parameters were calibrated using US IPD surveillance data from 1998–2006. Model results were compared to observed epidemiology.ResultsThe model was previously shown to predict observed IPD well through 2007. After adjusting model parameters for PCV13 efficacy and adult vaccine coverage, modeled IPD closely replicated observed IPD. Observed baseline pre-vaccine incidence for children <2 years of age was 192 cases/100,000 and 13.5 cases in 2016, versus 18.5 cases estimated by the model. Similarly, observed versus modeled cases in the ≥65-year-old age group were 24 and 23.6 cases.ConclusionsThis epidemiologic model accurately simulates the observed US IPD surveillance data 17 years after initial introduction of PCV, highlighting the direct and indirect benefits of vaccination. Well-constructed mathematical models can accurately replicate real-world scenarios. Key input parameters of these models can then be modified to predict the impact of alternate scenarios, providing insights to inform public health policy-making.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document