The separation of young children from their families for most of their awake hours, and the specific segregation of children by discrete chronological age through classrooms and grade levels, is a relatively new phenomenon in the history of human society. Such settler colonial constructs continue to influence early learning design, policy and…

Background: Most field coursework in teacher education (TE) programmes do not incorporate extended "in situ" interaction with individual children in a classroom. Furthermore, child development theory (from coursework) is not taught in tandem with students' extended periods of practicum placement in schools. Aim: This study sought to…

Reflection is a high impact practice that develops teacher candidates' learning. Critical reflection requires teacher candidates to continually examine their own thoughts, perspectives, biases, and actions. Reflective practice facilitates the development of new knowledge, skills, and dispositions in teacher candidates by fostering critical…

Many pre-service teachers express a lack of confidence and preparedness to face the challenges of teaching reading in today's classrooms. The current study looks at whether Structured Participation Experiences (SPE) in reading increase pre-service teachers' preparedness to teach reading compared to more traditional unstructured field experiences.…

Current theory on mentoring describes the process as a mutual learning relationship in which both the mentor and the mentee gain knowledge. Many research studies have supported the benefits of mentoring programs for at-risk elementary school children. One particularly interesting mentoring project with preschool children is Jumpstart, a national…

Three programs using the Educational Development Center's "Exploring Childhood" curriculum package are discussed in the light of the experiences of home economics and social studies teachers field testing the materials. Designed to provide adolescents with a theoretical and practical look at early childhood, these materials integrate…

Aspects of physical education teacher education that 12 participants reported were instrumental in developing understanding of and commitment to a movement approach (constructivist and developmental approach) are described. Coursework gave students a broader context for interpreting field experiences, whereas learning through doing exemplified and…

Three components of excellent middle grades teacher preparation programs include foundations (a broad liberal education and the knowledge base upon which the teaching profession rests), teaching fields (depth beyond the basics in some areas of academic inquiry), and middle grades specialization (experiences specific to learning to function…