J. Amos Hatch

Life history and narrative

Narrative configuration in qualitative analysis, Donald E. Polkinghorne Fidelity as a Criterion for practising and evaluating narrative inquiry, Donald Blumenfeld-Jones Distancing passion: narratives in social science, Catherine Emihovich Audience and the politics of narrative, Jan Nespor and Liz Barber Persuasive writings, vigilant readings, and reconstructed characters: the paradox of trust in educational storysharing, Thomas Barone Narrative strategies for case reports, Nancy Zeller The story so far: personal knowledge and the political, Ivor F. Goodson.

Kindergarten Philosophies and Practices: Perspectives of Teachers, Principals, and Supervisors.

This article reports findings from an ethnographic interview study which examined kindergarten philosophies and practices from the perspectives of teachers, principals, and supervisors responsible for implementing kindergarten programs. Analysis of interviews with 36 informants led to the identification of two broad generalizations: (1) Kindergarten programs are increasingly academic and skill oriented; and (2) Individuals responsible for implementing these programs may not believe that their kindergartens best serve the needs of young children, with the result that these individuals experience philosophy-reality conflicts. Research procedures are described, data supporting the findings are presented, and implications are discussed in three areas: (1) the gap between what the current literature calls developmentally appropriate practice and actual kindergarten practice; (2) the gap between current knowledge of how literacy is developed and actual instruction in kindergarten classrooms; and (3) the problems inherent in educational settings where philosophy-reality conflicts are created and perpetuated.

What preservice teachers can learn from studies of teachers’ work

Abstract This article recommends that research on teachers’ work be included more systematically in teacher preparation curricula. Findings from the international literature on teachers’ work are summarized in three areas: characteristics of teachers’ work; working conditions; and teaching as coping and adapting. Based on the argument that new teachers should have an active role in their own socialization, the case is made that teacher educators should include explorations of teaching as work in teacher preparation experiences. Specific suggestions for including studies of teachers’ work in teacher education programs are provided.

Child Observation and Accountability in Early Childhood Education: Perspectives from Australia and the United States

The changing ways child observation is being used by preschool teachers in the United States and Australia are described in relation to the accountability movement pressuring young children and their teachers in both countries. The costs of the accountability movement in early childhood education are explored, and a call for genuine accountability based on assessment strategies such as traditional child observation is made.

Young children as informants in classroom studies

This article addresses issues related to conducting qualitative studies in early childhood settings. Based on data collected in preschool and kindergarten studies, four problems that can threaten the quality of interviews with young children are identified: the adult-child problem, the right-answer problem, the pre-operational thought problem, and the self-as-social-object problem. These research problems are described using examples from interview data, and strategies for improving interviews with young children are presented.

Rethinking the Relationship Between Learning and Development: Teaching for Learning in Early Childhood Classrooms

Abstract This article challenges the overemphasis in early childhood education on young childrens development and its relative inattention to their learning. The author argues that learning leads cognitive development, and that early childhood educators should be more centered on teaching for learning and less on facilitating development. An alternative framework for thinking about early childhood teaching is presented, including descriptions of curriculum, instruction, and assessment, which place childrens learning at the center of early childhood practice.

What Schools Expect Young Children to Know and Do: An Analysis of Kindergarten Report Cards

This article explores the evaluation of kindergarteners in relation to developmental theory. We present findings of an analysis of report cards from a stratified random sample of Ohio public schools. The results indicate that kindergarten children are expected to master specific skills in the areas of work habits and reading and math readiness. Further, there is an emphasis on academic skills, with marking systems that negatively evaluate kindergarteners. A behaviorist perspective, in contrast to a maturationist or interactionist one, seems to be favored. Results are discussed in terms of implications for policymakers, and further research questions are suggested.

Teachers’ perceptions of integrated kindergarten programs in Hong Kong

This article reports findings from a qualitative interview study that examined the provision of integrated kindergarten education for children with disabilities from the perspectives of general education teachers implementing integrated kindergarten programs. Analysis of interviews with eight informants led to the identification of two broad generalizations: the interviewed teachers emphasized teaching academics to children without disabilities, but they focused on social development at the exclusion of academic instruction for children with disabilities; and, according to the teachers, instruction was academic and skill‐oriented in the integrated kindergarten programs. Research procedures are described and data supporting the findings are presented. Ways to improve program quality are discussed in terms of three major components: the Hong Kong government should include early childhood education within the compulsory education system, and enforce the formally recommended approach of developmental appropriateness; teacher education institutions should prepare prospective teachers to work in school settings where program goals may be contradictory with the ideology of inclusion; and educational researchers should monitor program quality in integrated childcare centers by conducting further research.

Qualitative studies in the era of scientifically‐based research: musings of a former QSE editor

Ten years have slipped by since Richard Wisniewski and I passed along the executive editorship of QSE. A great deal has changed in that relatively short period. Political power in the United States has shifted dramatically to the right, and conservative politicians and their cronies in academe have legislated a definition of science that effectively marginalizes qualitative studies in education. At the same time, many scholars who count themselves as qualitative methodologists have become so engrossed in a postmodern obsession with deconstruction and critique that they have essentially left the field to the neo‐conservatives without a real fight. If qualitative researchers want to take on the scientifically based research crowd, they should be mounting both offensive and defensive maneuvers. A strong offense would feature the production of high‐quality qualitative studies that make a compelling case for the importance and efficacy of research done in other than the positivist paradigm. The best defense would include incisive resistance to what passes for good work under the banner of scientifically based research.

Issues in Critical Teacher Education: Insights from the Field

As we began organizing our ideas for this book, we looked for an opportunity to include some contextual information about the current state of affairs in critical teacher education. We were in the process of identifying individuals we knew were doing critical pedagogical work in their teacher education programs and inviting them to submit abstracts for possible chapters in our book. But we realized that, to our knowledge, no one had undertaken a systematic effort to try and capture a sense of what issues confront teacher educators trying to utilize critical approaches in their work, or what those critical educators are doing in response to those issues. We decided to create and distribute an open-ended questionnaire designed to collect some information about their efforts from critical teacher educators. This chapter summarizes our findings from an analysis of responses to that questionnaire.