This book extends the discussion regarding effective early childhood teacher education in light of two contradictory public demands, day care and education. The sections of the book focus on what makes an effective beginning teacher, what is needed to move beyond initial competence, and what makes an effective early childhood teacher educator. Each section contains essays prepared by practitioners at infant through primary levels, followed by three commentaries from noted scholars, administrators, or teacher educators. Following an introduction (Day, Goffin) on the context in which the nurturing and pedagogical demands of early childhood education coexist, the essays are: (1) "Facilitating the Distinctive Role of Infant and Toddler Teachers" (Rowe and others); (2) "Defining Competence as Readiness To Learn (Kramer); (3) "Preparing Early Childhood Educators for Constructivist Teaching" (Olson); (4) "'You Might As Well Go on Home,'" on a teacher's increasing self-confidence (Albarado); (5) "The Competence of Entry-Level Early Childhood Teachers" (Bredekamp); (6) "New, with Something More To Learn: Comments on the Skills Necessary for Entry into an Early Childhood Classroom as a Competent Teacher" (Daniel); (7) "Listening to Teachers To Improve the Profession" (Schultz); (8) "Moving Beyond an Initial Level of Competence as an Infant Teacher" (Hamilton); (9) "Preparing Early Childhood Teachers for Careers in Learning" (VanArsdell); (10) "Deepening Teacher Competence through Skills of Observation" (Martin); (11) "Preserving Commitment to Teaching and Learning" (Tull); (12) "Developmental Stages in the Lives of Early Childhood Educators" (Berliner); (13) "Knowledge of Child Development and the Competence of Developing Teachers" (Katz); (14) "Reflections on the Growth and Development of Teachers in Early Childhood Education" (Sobol); (15) "Preparing Tomorrow's Inventors" (Fein); (16) "The Value of Developmentally Appropriate Practice for All Children" (Hutchison); (17) "Viewed through a Prism: The Multifaceted Enterprise of Early Childhood in Higher Education" (Fernie, Kantor); (18) "Accomplishing My Work as a Teacher Educator" (Yonemura); (19) "Early Childhood Teacher Educators in the Context of Professional Change" (Isenberg, Raines); (20) "Reflections of an Early Childhood Teacher Educator In-the-Making" (Wilson); (21) "'Women's Work,'" on how the female perspective shapes early childhood education and reform (Lubeck); (22) "Thoughts on Educating Teachers" (Bowman); and (23) "Moving Toward a Vision of Early Childhood Education" (Rosegrant). An epilogue discusses generating new perspectives in early childhood teacher education. (HTH)