Contemporary Theoretical Understandings About Education

An important role in upbringing and educational work is played by the application of adequate methods and means and knowledge and respect for the principles of educational work. The chapter will elaborate the most frequently represented methods of upbringing and educational work used so far, the advantages and limitations in their application, and the conditions that must be considered during their application in educational work. The methods of upbringing should be known by all educators (parents, preschool educators, teachers, and others), and also the personality of each educator should be known and used accordingly. The application of adequate methods and means of educational work in a timely manner is the best guarantee for the prevention of undesirable behaviors and other forms of sociopathological manifestations. The chapter will also present the means of educational work that can be used as well as principles that should be known and adhered to by all educators engaged in education and educational work.

Validity, reliability and viability of pre-school educators’ use of early years toolbox early numeracy

There is need and opportunity for assessments that support quick and playful – yet also accurate, rigorous and developmentally sensitive – appraisals of early numeracy. Ideally, these should be accessible to those who have opportunity to support children’s learning development and ultimately shift children’s trajectories. The iPad-based Early Years Toolbox (EYT) Early Numeracy assessment was developed and evaluated to determine its validity and reliability, and appropriateness of use by researchers and preschool educators. Results from two studies with 246 children aged 3–5 years indicated the following: construct validity and internal consistency, concurrent validity with established measures, developmental sensitivity, test–retest reliability and highly comparable results whether used by a researcher or an educator. This yields a brief and playful assessment of early numeracy and a potential approach to develop broad-use early years assessments.

Russian and Indian Preschool Educators’ Beliefs about Distance Education for Preschoolers

Increasing interest in the digitization of education raises the question of the specifics of the use of digital devices in preschool education and the perception of these new practices by educators. The primary purpose of this study was to examine educators’ beliefs about distance education for preschool children in Russia and India, given their professional education and cultural background. These two countries were chosen to explore how the education system has dealt with emergency remote teaching in countries with social and economic diversity. The study involved 909 preschool educators (623 from Russia and 286 from India). An exploratory factor analysis of educators’ responses to the Educators’ Beliefs about Distance Education for Preschoolers Questionnaire identified three factors. The first factor reflects the degree of positive or negative beliefs about the promotion potential of distance education for preschool children’s development. The second represents educators’ beliefs about the effectiveness of distance education depending on different teacher, child, and environmental conditions. The third is manifested in the belief among educators that distance education is ineffective in preschool education. The findings suggest that the years of professional education in early childhood pedagogy impacts educators’ beliefs about distance education for preschool children. Regardless of the number of years of education training, educators in India were more likely to believe in the high promotion potential of distance education in early childhood.

Attitudes of Students from the Faculty of Education on the Potentially Gifted Preschool Children

This paper presents the results of a research aimed at examining attitudes of the students from the faculties involved in teaching (pedagogical faculties), future educators in preschool institutions, about the potential giftedness of preschool children and working with them. The research was conducted on a sample of 174 students, future preschool educators. It was implemented at the Faculty of Educational Sciences of Pula (Croatia) and at the Faculty of Education of Jagodina (Serbia). The results of the research confirm: that future educators are sufficiently and qualitatively educated to work with gifted children; that future educators would like to have gifted individuals in their preschool groups and would love to work with gifted children; that the relationship between gifted and other kindergarten children is harmonious and gifted children should not be separated into special kindergarten groups; gifted children are a valuable resource for the community, they do not have any difficulties in socialization and they do not waste time in a regular kindergarten, and they are not bored with such kindergarten.

Modern Educational Programs for the Training of Preschool Teachers: Experience in the Implementation and Assessment of Educational Results of Students

The article discusses strategies how to change training of preschool educators in Russia because in many countries the importance and relevance of preschool education in the process of child development is recognized. It describes the changes in the approach of training of preschool educators. Authors highlight the specifics in design and implementation of preschool education bachelor’s and master’s training programs. The upgrade of teachers’ training is aimed primarily at training’s professionalization. The ways to change programs are the introduction of a modular principle of programs design, increasing students' practice classes, the process of assessing the results of their learning. The methods for assessing the competencies of future teachers of preschool educational organizations are presented. The most suitable method for the presented concept of education is solving pedagogical problems (or cases). Some examples of descriptors and tasks are given. The data of assessing the competencies of students are presented. There is an obvious gap between the results of the formation of various competencies. Some programs offered by the Institute of Childhood of Herzen State Pedagogical University of Russia are presented in the article. It is shown that the conceptual development of educational program’s competence-based model plays now a crucial role.

I Really Want to Learn New Things! Children's Perspectives on Educational Transition

The aim of this paper is to analyze how the process of educational transition is perceived by a group of children attending Preschool and Primary School, considering their expectations, fears, and experiences. Methodologically, this exploratory research was based on the collection of information through a conversational interview to 16 children in kindergarten and a questionnaire survey, with open and closed questions, to 35 children in basic education who attend a Portuguese School, in the Azores Archipelago. The data collected were analyzed qualitatively and quantitatively. The results obtained corroborate what is referenced in the specialty bibliography, showing that children, in general, manifest positive and encouraging feelings towards the transition process between preschool and primary education, even though, simultaneously, they may feel some fear or discomfort towards the unknown. These results should be considered in the light of the pedagogical intervention that Preschool educators and Primary School teachers should develop to build a coherent and continuous process. Received: 19 June 2021 / Accepted: 19 August 2021 / Published: 5 September 2021

Educational Approximations Between Preschool and Primary School: The Perspective of Kindergarten and Primary School Teachers

This article aims to understand how a group of preschool and primary school teachers view the process of educational transition between these two educational contexts, considering the consequences that these moments have on the children's school career and on their own personal and social experience, and that teachers play a key role as links between both. Methodologically, this research is based on the collection of information through a questionnaire survey, with open and closed questions, filled in by 20 preschool educators and 20 primary school teachers from the Autonomous Region of the Azores, Portugal. The collected data were analyzed quantitatively and qualitatively. The results obtained allow us to conclude that there are specific differences in the way preschool teachers and primary school teachers look at educational transition, although both consider it as an important aspect of the children's educational path, highlighting the need for a closer relationship between both in the construction of a process that is intended to be continuous and smooth. Received: 8 April 2021 / Accepted: 5 June 2021 / Published: 8 July 2021

From preschool educator to preschool English Educator: A study of transformation of classroom practice

This case study aims to analyze how preschool educators can play the role of language educators (Spanish and English) and how their pedagogical and teaching practice is being transformed. This study considers the theoretical framework behind the constructivist paradigm, which states that the context, participants' actions and views, and historical elements all play a part in constructing a theory. That truth is relative depending on one's perspective, while also focusing on establishing a rigorous and thorough process throughout this study, focusing on qualitative research principles (Creswell, 2014). The findings show that preschool educators can significantly improve their communicative competence, particularly in discourse, strategic and socio-cultural competencies. Furthermore, through reflection and self-assessment, preschool educators refine their classroom practices and enhance their conception about teaching English to preschool learners.

Using an Experience of the European Union to Form Future Preschool Teachers’ Ecological Competence

The article is dedicated to the theoretical and methodological aspects of the future preschool educators’ ecological competence formation with using the European Union’s experience in environmental safety and education. The aim of the study is to verify the effectiveness of the implementing the European Union’s experience in the process of the future preschool educators’ ecological competence forming. The authors analyzed domestic and foreign researches on the problem of teacher’s ecological competence. Based on the analysis of literary sources and own experience of teaching activity in the institution of higher education authors gave the definition of the concept "future preschool teacher’s ecological competence", identified and characterized its structural components. A complex of theoretical (analysis, synthesis, comparison, modelling, systematization, generalization) and empirical (testing, observation, pedagogical experiment; methods of mathematical statistics) methods was used to achieve the aim of the research. 92 students (experimental group (n = 45) and control group (n = 47)) of Oleksandr Dovzhenko Hlukhiv National Pedagogical University participated in the study. It has been determined that the teaching the course "Implementing the Strategy of Environmental Security: Integration of European Experience" to the students of the experimental group had a positive effect on the levels of their ecological competence formation.