The first purpose of this qualitative study was to explore self-reported significant life experiences of early childhood educators to determine whether experiences of traditional pre-K educators differed from those who taught in nature-based programs. The second purpose was to explore whether these experiences influenced their teaching practices.…

Two-generation human capital programs seek to promote the education of parents and children simultaneously. This study examines relations between family participation in Career"Advance," which recruits parents of Head Start children into a workforce training program, and children's Head Start attendance. The sample included 293 children…

This research analyses childhood career development learning through a qualitative career assessment. To help children to make meaning of the career influences, culturally sensitive procedures were used. A case-study design has been carried out, using techniques such as mapping, family portrait, role-playing and self-portrait to unveil the process…

Enactment of the "Every Student Succeeds Act" (ESSA) in 2015 introduced opportunities to use federal funds to strengthen the early childhood education and care (ECEC) workforce as a means of better meeting the needs of the growing and increasingly diverse young child population. Children under the age of 5 who have at least one parent or…

The early childhood education care (ECEC) practitioner landscape is complex and encompasses many roles including center-based and school-based administrative, teaching, and support staff as well as home-based unregulated child care family child care (FCC) providers and home-based regulated (e.g., registered or licensed) FCC providers who…

The Early Learning Challenge (ELC) program awarded more than $1 billion in four-year grants to 20 States to implement comprehensive and cohesive high-quality early learning systems that support young children with high needs and their families. A key lever in making these improvements was the enhancement of States' Quality Rating and Improvement…

This paper focuses on early childhood teachers' professional development in China. It reports a study which aims to elicit twelve in-service early childhood teachers' perspectives of the values and issues of professional development policies and the learning opportunities they experienced. Two themes arising from the study are addressed, namely…

This mixed-method study examined a neglected area in career education: parents' attitudes toward the relevance of early career development, parents' attitudes toward the implementation of career education in preschools (including preferred subjects to be included in curricula), and the contribution of gender, socioeconomic status (SES), and…

The knowledge, skills, and practices of early childhood care providers and teachers are critical factors in their delivery of high-quality developmental and educational experiences to young children. However, studies have found that the majority of professionals that make up the current early childhood workforce are not adequately prepared. Recent…

These proceedings contain the papers of the 16th International Conference on Cognition and Exploratory Learning in the Digital Age (CELDA 2019), held during November 7-9, 2019, which has been organized by the International Association for Development of the Information Society (IADIS) and co-organised by University Degli Studi di Cagliari, Italy.…

Vocational aspirations were investigated in a sample of 282 children between the ages of three and six. Results indicate that the pattern of vocational projection differs for males and females and that females undergo occupational foreclosure earlier than their male peers. (Author)

This Head Start evaluation system was developed at the request of the California Head Start Directors Association. There was a broad-based input in all phases of its development, from Head Start directors, Head Start staff from all components, and Head Start parents. It was extensively field tested in one of the major California Head Start…

This study investigates how the option for new-concept part-time (NPT) employment influences the ability of mothers of preschool children working in professional occupations to successfully integrate work and family responsibilities. Female NPT professionals (n=279) and female full-time (FT) professionals (n=250) were compared. The NPT group…

Examined whether, how, and to what extent young children's (N= 24) perceptions of themselves and their families related to their career development, career awareness, and work and family aspirations. Results suggest that young children cannot be clearly differentiated between those who are family-oriented and those who are career-oriented. (ABL)

Demonstrates that the process of vocational development is related to cognitive development: children's choices and reasoning reflect their changing modes of understanding the world. (Author)