Being An Early Childhood Educator

'This book will be an invaluable resource for pre-service early childhood educators as they prepare not only for their placements but also their future careers. The examples, activities and reflection points are realistically representative of events and contexts across the birth to 8 years age range. These features effectively scaffold the pre-service teacher's preparation and thinking for socially just early childhood teaching.' - Associate Professor Susan Krieg, Early Childhood Program Coordinator, Flinders University Making the transition from pre-service teacher to professional can be challenging. From field experience placements, or 'pracs', to the early years in the classroom, this text provides a comprehensive and practical guide to help every early childhood student develop their professional expertise and confidence. The authors prompt students to bring together theories learned at university with ways of working with real children in real settings, framed by the principles of recognising equity and diversity. There is clear guidance on how to be successful 'on prac', including understanding the many roles pre-service teachers will be expected to take on, and the important relationships they need to build. Lesson planning, understanding curriculum documents and fail-safe strategies for teaching in a wide range of situations and with children from wide-ranging backgrounds are all covered in depth. Suggestions for tutorial activities and further reading accompany each chapter, prompting students to engage in critical reflection and self-evaluation, while the 'On track on prac' feature will help pre-service teachers monitor and review their progress. Readers are also provided with insights from 'real world' pre-service students and professional teachers who have mentored many different students on prac. This is an essential text for all students undertaking practicums and preparing for the first years of their professional careers.

'This book will be an invaluable resource for pre-service early childhood educators as they prepare not only for their placements but also their future careers. The examples, activities and reflection points are realistically representative of events and contexts across the birth to 8 years age range. These features effectively scaffold the pre-service teacher's preparation and thinking for socially just early childhood teaching.' - Associate Professor Susan Krieg, Early Childhood Program Coordinator, Flinders University Making the transition from pre-service teacher to professional can be challenging. From field experience placements, or 'pracs', to the early years in the classroom, this text provides a comprehensive and practical guide to help every early childhood student develop their professional expertise and confidence. The authors prompt students to bring together theories learned at university with ways of working with real children in real settings, framed by the principles of recognising equity and diversity. There is clear guidance on how to be successful 'on prac', including understanding the many roles pre-service teachers will be expected to take on, and the important relationships they need to build. Lesson planning, understanding curriculum documents and fail-safe strategies for teaching in a wide range of situations and with children from wide-ranging backgrounds are all covered in depth. Suggestions for tutorial activities and further reading accompany each chapter, prompting students to engage in critical reflection and self-evaluation, while the 'On track on prac' feature will help pre-service teachers monitor and review their progress. Readers are also provided with insights from 'real world' pre-service students and professional teachers who have mentored many different students on prac. This is an essential text for all students undertaking practicums and preparing for the first years of their professional careers.

Early Childhood Education: Becoming a Professional is an inspiring introduction to the world of early childhood education, preparing the teachers of tomorrow to reach their full potential in their schools and communities. Written by a diverse and experienced author team (Kimberly A. Gordon Biddle, Ana Garcia-Nevarez, Wanda J. Roundtree-Henderson, and Alicia Valero-Kerrick), this text engages readers to connect contemporary educational and developmental theory and research to developmentally appropriate practices and applications that are easily implemented in the classroom. In response to today's ever-changing educational environment, the text focuses on both the importance of taking personal and professional responsibility, as well as today's issues in diversity—from supporting children with exceptionalities to supporting children and families in broader cultural contexts.

In recent years there have been significant changes in education across the globe, largely as a result of changing demographics, technological developments, and increased globalization. Relatedly, the changing needs of societies and families, along with new research findings, provide new directions in early childhood education. Consequently, early childhood teachers today are faced with higher and more complex expectations to help ensure that their students achieve their full potential. Such expectations suggest that early childhood teachers should be professionals who are able to draw on a robust knowledge base in making educational decisions. It follows that teacher education programs should develop and implement innovative programs that can potentially enhance the quality of our future teachers. An awareness of pressing issues in the field of early childhood teacher education led the editors to develop this volume. The chapters in these two volumes bring together scholars from across the US and the globe who are interested in improving the quality of early childhood teacher education. The chapters present their experiences, perspectives, and lessons learned as they addressed some of the challenging issues concerning the education and preparation of future early childhood teachers. The various issues and perspectives from different states in the US or countries across the globe provide insights into current issues and dilemmas facing the field. The contributions of these scholars should inform the discourse on early childhood teacher education and help those who work with preservice teachers improve the quality of their work.

For today's early childhood educator, change is a non-negotiable reality. While the size, force, and direction of change can often seem overwhelming, this book shows the way toward overcoming these gigantic odds or "Goliaths." The New Early Childhood Professional recounts some of the heroic stories and strategic approaches used by early childhood educators who particpated in the CAYL Institute Fellowship programs. The authors share a specific framework with concrete steps to help educators become positive change makers in the field of early care and education. Complete with resources, tools, and questions for reflection, this handbook takes readers through four progressive paths toward becoming an architect of change: Analysis, when confronting seemingly insurmountable situations, instead of being overwhelmed, think and reflect about the situation and discover hidden insights; Advance, better understand the nature of problems while also strengthening your vision and identity through planning and preparation; Act, begin with everyday challenges and use what you know from every situation, in every interaction with a child, parent, peer, or administrator; and Accelerate, focus on what you want to change, gather allies, document, and communicate.

Caribbean Childhoods: From Research to Action is an annual publication produced by the Children s Issues Coalition at the University of the West Indies, Mona. The series seeks to provide an avenue for the dissemination of research and experiences on children s health, development, behaviour and education, and to provide a forum for the discussion of these issues.

This book frames content in a way that defines the " what, why, and how" of becoming an early childhood educator. It prepares readers for the variety of roles (advocate, facilitator, planner, mediator, etc.) they must assume in working with children, parents, colleagues, principals, administrators, and the community at large. Its innovative coverage focuses on helping readers fulfill these roles in a caring, competent, knowledgeable manner, through case studies, verbatim comments, and numerous opportunities for reflection. Organized around the twelve essential roles and responsibilities of effective early childhood educators as delineated by the NAEYC "Guidelines for Preparation of Early Childhood Professionals (2000)," coverage includes demographic changes in families, advances in psychology, political influences, cultural diversity, and issues of inclusion. For future teachers of children from birth to age 8.