Time pressures, meeting children's needs, dealing with nonteaching tasks, maintaining early childhood philosophy and practice, meeting personal needs, parent issues, interpersonal relationships, and attitudes and perceptions about early childhood programs were the major sources of stress that were identified in a study of eight Australian…

The article outlines the use of reflective journal writing to help develop preservice teachers as reflective practitioners. Journals allow students to determine their own focus and what they want to understand, and to have their ideas seriously valued as knowledge being personally constructed. The importance of collaboration is examined. (SM)