PRESCHOOL TEACHERS' SELF-EFFICACY BELIEFS EVALUATION OF SCIENCE TEACHING IN EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION

This chapter describes the development and subsequent implementation of a parenting curriculum in an early childhood education classroom. The purpose of the study is to provide a curriculum for preschool teachers to improve the quality of early childhood education. The study was implemented in several classrooms of an early childhood center. The center was located on a university campus of an urban city in the state of Connecticut, USA. The innovation in this work was the idea that curriculum for early childhood providers could be created in a way that started from parent perceptions, rather than from telling parents how they need to change to meet school needs. The results of this study suggest that teachers who implement the parenting curriculum would be better prepared to work with both parents and children in a preschool setting.

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Early childhood educators’ attitudes toward science teaching in Chinese schools

Australasian Journal of Early Childhood ◽

10.1177/1836939119870890 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 44 (4) ◽

pp. 423-435

Author(s):

Pey-Tee Oon ◽

Bi Ying Hu ◽

Bing Wei

Keyword(s):

Early Childhood ◽

Early Childhood Education ◽

Science Teaching ◽

Science Teachers ◽

Attitudes And Beliefs ◽

Childhood Education ◽

Child Centered ◽

Teachers Attitudes ◽

The Rasch Model ◽

Science Activities

The study looked at early childhood education teachers’ views on teaching science in China using the Preschool-Teachers’ Attitudes and Beliefs toward Science Teaching (P-TABS) instrument. A total of 245 teachers from 60 preschools in Guangdong province in China, selected through a stratified random sampling approach, participated in the current study. The instrument was validated and results were analyzed using the Rasch model. Results revealed that although the sampled teachers support child-centered learning, early childhood education teachers are somewhat uncomfortable in planning science activities that are engaging of preschoolers. The teachers report low confidence in their ability as science teachers and perceived themselves to have inadequate science knowledge. They noted a number of challenges associated with the teaching of science including the overloaded teaching commitments and the lack of resources for use in science activities.

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Demokratiske samtaler i barnehagen?

Tidsskrift for Nordisk Barnehageforskning ◽

10.7577/nbf.310 ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 4 (2) ◽

pp. 103-114 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Kristin Rydjord Tholin ◽

Turid Thorsby Jansen

Keyword(s):

Early Childhood ◽

Early Childhood Education ◽

Preschool Teachers ◽

Theoretical Studies ◽

Childhood Education ◽

Video Observations

Title: Democratic dialogues in early childhood education?Abstract: We examine what democracy-promoting practices may be in early childhood education. From an understanding of democracy as multifaceted we have studied how teachers lead planned conversations which enable children to present themselves and their interests. The issue discussed being: How can the teacher create conditions for conversations that are characterized by democracy promoting practices? The research is based on theoretical studies of democracy and conversations and video observations of conversations between teachers and children in two early childhood education institutions. The results are presented four themes: The preschool teachers’ emphasis on common experiences, their ability to make different voices distinct, show a listening participation and their daring when encountering the unexpected. Analysis shows that conversations in connections with projects can have a potential to promote practices characterized by democracy, but this seems demanding.

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