Preschool teachers' perspectives of empathy and parent-teacher partnership in early childhood education

2012 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nancy Peck
Author(s):  
Theresa J. Canada

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.


2011 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 103-114 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kristin Rydjord Tholin ◽  
Turid Thorsby Jansen

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.   


Author(s):  
V C Onu ◽  
William Emeka Obiozor ◽  
O E Agbo ◽  
Ezeanwu Chiamaka

This survey research studied integration and innovation in early childhood education and implications for quality teacher preparation. The study was a descriptive survey research, with one hundred and twelve (112) sampled preschool teacher. Eight research questions and three hypotheses guided the study. Early Childhood Programme Instrument on Integration and Innovation (ECPAI) was constructed, validated and used in eliciting responses from the respondents. The data collected were analyzed using percentage, mean, and Paired Sample tests. The study revealed a significant difference in the opinions of public and private preschool teachers toward integration and innovative practices in early childhood education in Nigeria. It was equally revealed that are Early Childhood Education (ECE) programme in Nigeria is influenced by traditional, uncreative approaches. Thus, training and retraining of focus teachers and stakeholders in ECE was highly recommended


2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Kabita Bose ◽  
Kerstin Bäckman

Background: Education in mathematics and science is important at all school levels and should ideally start in the preschool, which implies that preschool teachers should have an adequate knowledge base in these subjects.Aim: This study aimed to investigate preschool teachers’ knowledge bases, including their subject matter knowledge (SMK) and pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) in mathematics and science.Setting: The study presents an account of preschool teachers’ knowledge bases in mathematics and science in Botswana and Sweden and how they influence their teaching choices and strategies.Methods: A pragmatic paradigm with a survey design and a mixed-methods mode with quantitative and qualitative approaches was used. Using a purposive sampling procedure, 64 preschool teachers from Botswana and 67 from Sweden participated in the study. Questionnaires and observation schedules were used to collect the data.Results: The findings showed that the Swedish preschool teachers had SMK and PCK in the two subjects. The Botswana teachers had SMK but lacked PCK. The early childhood educated preschool teachers from Sweden with developed PCK highlighted the daily routine situations as teaching or learning situations, whereas the primary school teachers from Botswana had SMK but found it difficult to teach at the preschool level.Conclusion: The preschool teachers’ knowledge bases included a play-based approach and knowledge about didactic considerations in spontaneous situations that made them teachable. The findings also showed the importance of a framework for specialised and professional early childhood education (ECE) training and acquiring SMK and PCK that contributed to the preschool teachers’ knowledge bases and practices in their teaching of mathematics and science. Early childhood education teachers’ educational experiences, their specialised and professional training profiles and the knowledge they acquired determined their knowledge bases and the SMK and PCK that minimised the constraints and challenges faced by them in the teaching of mathematics and science in ECE classrooms.


Author(s):  
Aija Ozola

The Education Law of Latvia recognizes early childhood education as an educational level in which multi-dimensional development of the child as an individual, strengthening of health and preparation for the acquisition of primary education takes place. Currently, early childhood education is undergoing considerable transformations and transition to a competence-based approach. Teachers’ perspectives serve as significant indicators for analysis of current educational situation and therefore highlight the core areas for enhancing early childhood educational practice. The design of the study is based on qualitative research using data from a survey and focus group discussions. The aim of the study is to identify and analyse teachers’ perspectives on early childhood educational practice. In accordance to the aim, the following research questions were posed: (1) what is early childhood teachers’ personal meaning of good educational practice; (2) what factors could contribute to enhance the early childhood educational practice in future? To identify teachers’ perspectives, a survey was conducted with early childhood teachers implementing curriculum in municipal early childhood education institutions around Latvia. The answers to two open-ended questions as a part of a larger questionnaire were analysed. The in-depth examination of perspectives was reached by implementing several focus group discussions. Data were analysed using the method of qualitative content analysis. The findings revealed wide diversity in teachers’ personal meaning of good educational practice. The issues related to developmental psychology-based learning outcomes and school-readiness still dominate among teachers’ perspectives. Postmodern views on a child emphasizing children’s diversity and uniqueness were often mentioned as well. The factors contributing to good educational practice were categorized into four main areas such as organization of the pedagogical process, teachers’ competences, environment of an early childhood setting, collaboration with parents. In general, Latvian teachers’ perspectives demonstrate readiness for transition to a competence-based approach in early childhood education. However, identified contributing and hindering factors should be taken into account during the process of transformations.


2018 ◽  
Vol 11 (10) ◽  
pp. 91
Author(s):  
Yi-Huang Shih

Since broadening the aesthetic experience for young children is an element of early childhood education, aesthetic education is important at this stage. By reading and analyzing related studies, this article aims to give preschool teachers a better understanding of the importance and purpose of aesthetic education in early childhood so young children can receive the appropriate aesthetic education in Taiwan.


2020 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
pp. 13-25
Author(s):  
Natália Teixeira Ananias Freita ◽  
Fátima Aparecida Dias Gomes Marin

The aim of this study was to discuss the formation of teachers and their conceptions and pedagogical practices in relation to Environmental Education in Solid Waste in the context of Early Childhood Education. The methodological notes concern the qualitative approach, of the "case study" type. Ten preschool teachers from the Municipal Schools of Kindergarten were listed as research subjects and the data were obtained through semi-structured interviews. In this article we present the discussions concerning the pedagogical conceptions about Environmental Education, Consumption and Solid Waste mentioned by the preschool teachers. The teachers' conceptions about Environmental Education permeate the bias of Environmental Awareness, linked to the child's relationship with the environment in which they live. Regarding Solid Waste, the teachers connect the theme with recycling. Most teachers understand the distinction between Consumption and Consumerism. We believe that Environmental Education in Solid Waste should be carried out in Early Childhood Education based on daily situations and guided by pedagogical practices appropriate to the children's possibilities of comprehension, which includes a good initial and continuous teacher training on environmental issues.


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