Focusing on diversity represents a step forward towards a complex concept of quality in the early childhood education and care (ECEC) system. The diversification of programmes and services takes shape within this framework, bringing a shift from purely technical issues towards a joint construction of the community's culture. Its complexity is…

Emphasis on professionalisation of the childcare workforce internationally is associated with evidence that links education and experience of early years practitioners; quality of early education and care; and outcomes for children and families. In England, this has led to a proliferation of vocational undergraduate programmes. This article draws…

This article explores qualitative shadowing as an interpretivist methodology, and explains how two researchers participating simultaneously in data collection using a video recorder, contextual interviews and video-stimulated recall interviews, conducted a qualitative shadowing study at six early childhood centres in Norway. This paper emerged…

This study explores pre-service teachers' perceptions of movement education, the benefits they perceive from participating in a 12-week movement education module in a course on play, and the module's effects on their confidence and competence in regard to incorporating movement into a curriculum. Findings suggest that the pre-service teachers…

This study investigated changes made to the Childhood Studies placement journey of one post-1992 University in England. The Childhood Studies degree includes "practitioner options" that requires students to complete 200 h placement experience, including 50 h in year one. In 2014, the participant university responded to this expectation…

This article draws on qualitative evidence from an evaluation of the "Greater Tomorrow" Crèche and Ballyhaunis Community Preschool in Ballyhaunis, Co Mayo, Ireland in 2016. The article focuses on the approach to practice and the underlying ethos of these two services, reflecting a clearly articulated respect for diversity and the…

When it comes to changing one's behavior, what makes a person ready to change? In this study, mentors participated in interviews and focus groups about early childhood educators' readiness to change their practices with children. One third of the educators were rated by their mentors as "not ready to change" as measured by the Stage of Change…

Professional development, which results in sustained transformative change, requires that teachers engage in critical reflection regarding teaching practices. In this study, a group of five bilingual and generalist early childhood teachers engaged in a journey in which they elected to try to reconstruct their beliefs and practices about teaching…

This paper reports the contribution of Teachers' Resource Centres (TRCs) in enhancing teachers' professional development. Variables investigated were designed programme for the primary school teachers, teachers who were attending in-service training at the TRCs, as well as those who had completed the training and teaching, and head teachers at the…

This article describes the implementation of a read-aloud routine focused on the development of vocabulary knowledge and comprehension for English Learners (ELs) in grades K-3. This paper describes the steps of a daily read-aloud system, including key applications of second language acquisition and culturally responsive pedagogy with examples of…

This article fills in the knowledge gap in the student-centered practices of generalist music and art teachers to prepare 21st century learners. The study shows that generalists, after completing a specialist professional development program, struggle the most in connecting subject matter knowledge to pedagogical knowledge, specifically…

The present study aims to explore whether the electronic portfolio can influence pre-service teachers' education and to examine how professional learning communities develop through electronic portfolios. To achieve this, twenty-four student-teachers taking a course in early childhood education at Al-Quds University participated in a study to…

This study investigates early childhood education teachers' and assistant teachers' views about a year-long professional development model that focuses on developing intentional teaching. The study shares the results of interviews conducted with the teachers at the end of the implementation of a one-year experimental professional model in Head…

In England, the overwhelming majority (78%) of under fives' nursery places, remains in the private, voluntary and independent (PVI) sector where there is no requirement to employ a qualified teacher. Compared to the maintained state sector early years workforce, this dominant PVI sector tends to be staffed by a poorly qualified workforce. From…

Since 2006, UK policy has identified a professionalisation agenda for staff working in early childhood education and care settings. This has included the development of graduate leaders with a specific purpose to lead improvements in these settings by leading change, and hence improving outcomes for children. This article reports on findings from…