Learning and knowledge development in preschool teacher education and practicum (original) (raw)
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The paper presents two approaches to the preschool teachers' competences issue. The approaches are based on the different understanding of the nature of educational practice, the nature of preschool teachers' profession and their professionalism. Technocratic approach is based on comprehension of professionalism as the implementation of specific knowledge and skills in one's professional practice. The ideal professional practice is defined as the evidence based practice. The emphasis is on the accumulation of the competences. There is a defined list of competences which a preschool teacher should have. This list contains isolated knowledge, skills and attitudes. It is derived from the set education outcomes, focused on the individual preschool teacher and has a controlling function.Contrary to the above, a systemic approach to the preschool teachers' professionalism is based on the recognition of the preschool teacher profession as the ethical practice of the responsible engagement. A preschool teacher's practice is seen as changeable, dynamic, contextual and highly challenging. Competences are determined as a system of interconnected and interactive knowledge, skills and values. A preschool teacher's competence stems from and relies on the competence of the institution and the entire education system.
Learning and knowledge development in preschool teacher training and practicum
2009
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Fragmented boundary zones between theory and practice in preschool teacher education in Sweden
Journal of Praxis in Higher Education
Research dealing with preschool teacher education has been, for a long time, criticalof a binary divide between theory and practice. Based on that issue, this studyinvestigates a preschool teacher education programme in Sweden. It focusses onreflection upon theory and practice as an affordance offered to students in studies andwork. The study used a questionnaire with two groups: campus studentsfollowing the regular programme and students who were nurses already working atpreschools. Analysis shows a fragmented education where the groups faced differentproblems, but also that neither of them could connect reflections on theory andpractice at the workplace to their own learning approaches in either studies orworking matters. How the students experienced affordances depended on theireducational skills and knowledge, and the programme relied mostly on individualreflection as the solution to the binary divide. This reliance seemed to work better forcampus students, who were challenged b...
Early childhood teachers’ learning and professional development
2017
This investigation focuses on the construction and foundations of early childhood educators’ personal practical theories, the transformation of these theories (in the first year after the initial training period and ten years after the end of initial training), and the identification of the factors that were involved in and influenced the construction and modification of these theories – in particular, training, supervision, and professional socialization. By means of a small scale qualitative study with a longitudinal perspective, we held two semi-structured interviews with each of the four participants in two stages of the investigation and a Stimulated Recall Interview (Meijer, Zanting, & Verloop, 2002) that was based on observed and recorded video lessons in the final practice of teacher training. The study made it possible to know the contents of the teachers’ practical theories at two different stages of professional development. We can say that the training program (2002–2006...
Knowledge Based Society - Teaching Proffesion Challenges, 2013
Professional development of teachers has become an essential condition in today's knowledge-based society to sustain the quality of teaching. Any direction of the professional development inquires actions related to teachers' identity, learning, adaptation, changes, transformation, and losses throughout the life span. Because of a number of factors such as personal experiences, social environment and organizational influences, teachers professional development moves in and out of specifical developmental phases. Modes of thought and action are direct constrained by relationships to people, relational networks, places, objects, ethical, structural, economical, policy, personal, and culturally practices and symbolic systems have important implications for the study of professional learning through the life span. The purpose of this research paper concerns on two studies that investigated which factors are involved during the specifical professional developmental phases of teaching career, and kindergarten teachers' perception on pre-service and in-service teacher training factors which influence the educational practicum. The final remarks of the teachers is that their professional development should aim to skills of personal development, management decision making, taking responsibility and interaction with others, creating opportunities for professional skills training. This paper was made within The Knowledge Based Society Project supported by the Sectoral Operational Programme Human Resources Development (SOP HRD), financed from the European Social Fund and by the Romanian Government under the contract number POSDRU 89/1.5/S/56815.
2017
The culture of institutions of early education is a strong network of customs, rules, norms and behaviours that affect the daily life and work of all its individuals. Consequently, the professional development of preschool teachers is not only an individual process of professional advancement, but also a process that changes the culture of the institution of early education and includes all participants of the educational process. In this paper, we examine the perception of the preschool teacher profession and the connection between the preschool teachers’ attitudes about their profession and their focus on continuous learning and exploring personal practice. The research was conducted on a random sample of N = 238 preschool teachers in Croatia. For data collection, we used the Questionnaire for the assessment of the culture of the educational institution designed for the needs of the scientific research project ‘Culture of the educational institution as a factor of co-constructing knowledge’.
The (co-)construction of knowledge within initial teacher training. Experiences from Croatia
2015
• "Learning by doing" within and together with a "community that learns" ought to become the fundamental method of learning-not only for children, but also for their teachers and other participants in the educational process. To what extent are students of early and preschool education involved in such work methods, and what have their experiences been like? An example of a research-based, reflective approach to practice grounded in action research and the co-construction of knowledge with students shall be presented as an example of quality practice at the Faculty of Teacher Education in Rijeka. Such a form of practice creates knowledge through the action itself and through contemplation of one's actions and the actions of others, all with the purpose of strengthening the practical competencies of future teachers. Our conclusion is that mutual learning, as propounded by the social constructivist approach to education, within the context of the mutual discussions between students and teachers that we organized directly contributed to the development of (self-)reflection competencies among future teachers, while also immersing all participants in an environment conducive to deliberation and the (re)definition of oneself and one's own pedagogical work.
Is a new paradigm for education and professional development of preschool teachers needed?
2019
Effective systems for pre-school education and upbringing aim at raising the professional status of the staff, which is generally considered a key factor of quality. The system should aim at pedagogical workforce consisting of professionals with a full professional qualification specialized in pre-school education at ISCED level 6. The new challenges faced by upbringing and education need staff professionally enabled for creative action, which will stimulate, motivate, provide various educational situations in which the child will experience its own self-realization. The profession – preschool teacher has its own developmental path and is built on the basis of general principles and an appropriate system of scientific knowledge and practical skills. Education and professional development of preschool teachers is a challenge in the reforms and it is the key issue of an educational institution. The aim of this paper is to perceive and indicate the current conditions and challenges of ...