Reflective practice is one of the key recommended practices in early childhood (EC) education and has been positively associated with the quality of EC teaching; however, research on reflective practice in preschool teaching is limited. In this study, we examined four preschool teachers' reflections on their science teaching exhibited through a…

Educator reflective practice is fundamental to quality early childhood education with robust practice benefitting pedagogy and improving outcomes for children. Yet, examination of individual and collaborative reflective practice in experienced professional early childhood teams is scarce. This qualitative case study used an action research design…

This study aimed to give insights of in-service teachers' experiences of nature of science (NOS) learning and NOS teaching through a co-teaching professional learning context. For this purpose, the co-teachers were encouraged to share and discuss ideas and to improve NOS teaching through reflection and collaborative interaction in the context of a…

This paper outlines a case study of the reflections of two novice teaching English to speakers of other languages (TESOL) teachers in South Korea through the lens of a framework for reflecting on practice that included reflections on the teachers' philosophy, principles, theory, practice, and beyond practice. Overall, the results revealed that…

Three early childhood teacher educators from different institutions engaged in a collaborative self-study to explore the role of empathy in preservice teacher professional development. The two-fold purpose of the study was to: (1) develop and refine their practices to build teacher candidates' empathy in their interactions with children, families,…

This paper outlines a small-scale Case Study, which took place in England, involving six School Direct Primary teacher trainees acting as participants. Important assessment points, evidencing progress against the Teachers' Standards, are 'Units of Learning'. These contain sequences of lessons, planned and evaluated by the trainees, assessing…

In Australian early childhood teacher education programs there is typically a greater focus on the age group of kindergarten children compared to that of infants and toddlers (Garvis, Lemon, Pendergast and Yim, 2013). As a consequence, pre-service teachers may have little opportunity to interact and learn about this important age range. This paper…

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…

Many believe that the key to translating research into successful practice lies in providing teachers with continuous professional development and ongoing coaching support. In this article, we provide an overview of the relevant coaching literature and describe 4 critical features of an evidence-based preschool literacy coaching model: the coach…

This doctoral thesis explored mentoring in early learning teacher preparation programs. This study explored the reflective processes embedded in the work between student teachers and their mentors during early learning student teacher experiences at Washington State community and technical colleges. Schon's (1987a) concepts of…

In recent years, policy documents, curricula and other educational initiatives have promoted a pedagogy founded on the concept of independent learning. This is broadly defined as "having the belief in yourself to think through learning activities, problems or challenges, make decisions about your learning and act upon those decisions".…

The purpose of this research was to better understand affordances and constraints of the Candidate Mentor Supervisor Model (CMSM) as experienced by teacher candidates and their mentor supervisors. The results indicated perceived benefits to teacher candidates. Candidates participating in the CMSM reported a sense of nested support within their…

The field of teacher research is increasingly including self-study as a valid and reliable method with which teachers can study and improve practice. In this self-study, I develop knowledge of myself as a nonfiction reader and use it to inform my instruction. Guided by the work of Schoenbach, Greenleaf, Cziko, and Hurwitz (1999), I use…

This article is based on quantitative and qualitative data that have been generated since 2009 on the study skills needs of early years practitioners working in England. The research has identified that developing information technology skills appears to be a particular professional development need for these practitioners. The practitioners are…

In this article, the author provides several ideas on how individuals who work in the field of early education can make their visions come true. She suggests that one should incorporate self-reflection in their practice. She also offers questions that will help guide educators to explore lifelong professional development opportunities and…