Since early childhood has become the focus of national and supranational political spaces, issues around teacher learning have also gained a firm position in the debates. This has seen the literature on teacher learning largely being positioned within a managerial/alternative dichotomy, arising from a resistance to technical-rationalist discourses…

The early childhood-school relationship is reported as having points of separation and difference. In particular, early childhood teachers located in a school setting report experiencing a push-down effect. This paper reports on a participatory action research project involving three early childhood teachers working within an independent school.…

In a climate of increasing regulation within early childhood education and care services, and the greater re-positioning of professionals within public sectors, this article seeks to extend the literature surrounding risk and regulation in early childhood. In efforts to "push back" against the "regulatory gaze" in the early…

The purpose of this study was to explore some problems and desires of developing self-confidence in teaching English of non-English major teachers in rural small primary schools in Thailand with participatory action research. This study also aims to develop teacher's confidence in teaching English, enhance communicative competence and to assess…

Teacher educators recognize that teacher candidates must have authentic, scaffolded opportunities to transform knowledge into practice. This study explores teacher candidates' engagement with teacher inquiry as a method for supporting professional development. Findings suggest teacher candidates differ tremendously in their responses to the…

As a team of teacher educators at a university in the United States, we engage in participatory action research to reflect on how reflective tools which we design engage teacher candidates (TCs) in their reflecting on teaching. In this paper, we describe how we invite TCs to write in-class reflections, respond to self-assessment probes, and…

This study explores the integration of two key ideas and working frameworks: a community of educational practice formed by the synergy between a natural history museum and a university department of pre-school education, which undertook participatory action research aimed at the creation of innovative museum programmes for young children. Data…

As two teacher educators teaching two sections of a master's action research capstone course, we analyze (1) course content and pedagogy, (2) evolving beliefs about research, and (3) transformations in question posing as students assume the role of researchers. Our theoretical frame draws on teacher research, social justice advocacy, and the…

This paper deals with an action-research project currently being undertaken at the University of Bologna concerning the observation of music making during daily routines with under-four children during diaper change, bedtime and free-play. Several observational protocols were carried out in natural and spontaneous contexts. The data analysis was…

The present study was undertaken to find ways to help bilingual preservice teachers become more aware of diversity and more questioning of methods for literacy development in order to address issues of critical literacy. Twenty-five bilingual preservice teachers, enrolled in a Spanish Reading Methods at the university tutored 25 kindergarten…