Pamela J. Winton

Preparing the workforce: early childhood teacher preparation at 2- and 4-year institutions of higher education

While the importance of quality education for individuals working with young children (ages 0–4) is widely accepted in the field of Early Childhood Education, little is known about the context, content, and needs of the programs that are providing this education. This paper presents data from a nationally representative survey (n = 438) of chairs/directors of early childhood teacher preparation programs at 2- and 4-year Institutions of Higher Education (IHEs). Findings presented include faculty characteristics, course and practica requirements, comparisons between early childhood programs and the institutions as wholes, and challenges facing programs. Where appropriate, comparisons are made between 2- and 4-year schools. Results are discussed in terms of policy implications.

Reaching Consensus on a Definition of Professional Development for the Early Childhood Field

Reaching consensus on the meaning of professional development is needed to integrate professional development across various sectors of the early childhood field, distinguish various professional development approaches, match learning opportunities to learner characteristics, and evaluate its effects on professional practices and child and family outcomes. This article proposes a definition and conceptual framework for professional development across all sectors of early childhood and describes methods used to validate them. A case example illustrates how the definition and framework can be used to organize and plan professional development. Future directions for how a shared definition could move the field closer to a shared vision for planning, implementing, and evaluating professional development are discussed.

Family Supports and Services in Early Intervention: A Bold Vision

This article utilizes four knowledge sources to characterize a current gap in policy and practice related to serving families in early intervention (birth to 5) programs. It argues that the field of early intervention has focused primarily on implementing family-centered practices by focusing on how families and professionals should interact. The field has not sufficiently addressed what supports and services should be offered to families to enhance the likelihood of positive outcomes for families themselves and for their children with disabilities. The paper concludes with recommendations for enhancing policy, research, and professional development related to family services and supports.

Parent involvement as viewed by parents of preschool handicapped children

Ann P. Turnbull, Ph.D. Research Associate Rureau of Child Research University of Kansas Lawrence, Kansas PARENT INVOLVEMENT in preschool programs for handicapped children is a current trend. Not only is there a research base for such a strategy (Bronfenbrenner, 1962), but a substantial degree of parent involvement in decision making is mandated by law (PL 94-142). The current and future direction for expanding parent involvement activities at the preschool level is unclear. While some educators in the field are promoting the idea of individually matching services to the values and needs of parents (Karnes & Zehrbach, 1975), a recent study by Hocutt (1980) indicated that individual parent programs are not a top priority for experts in the field. In this study a panel of 20 nationally known experts in education policy and/or early childhood

Early Childhood Teacher Preparation in Special Education at 2- and 4-Year Institutions of Higher Education

The movement toward inclusion has made educating and caring for children with disabilities an increasingly critical part of the early education teachers role. The goal of this paper is to describe the extent to which early childhood teacher preparation programs are including early childhood special educationlearly intervention content and experiences as part of their core course and practicum requirements. A nationally representative survey of 438 chairs and directors of early childhood teacher preparation programs revealed that while a large proportion of programs consider early childhood special educationlearly intervention to be a part of the mission of their program, the amount of coursework and practicum experience vary considerably by content area and level of degree offered by the program. Implications are offered for policy and future research.

Family Goals in Infant Intervention: Analysis and Issues.

In October, 1987, the U.S. Department of Education issued a call to the field soliciting examples of Individualized Family Service Plans (IFSP) written for infants and toddlers with handicaps and their families. This article describes an analysis of the family dimensions of those plans. Each IFSP was examined to determine the presence of key legislative requirements. Each family goal was coded according to domain of family functioning, structural dimensions, level of parent involvement, and time specifications for goal attainment. Results indicated that most family goals were child-focused. Although statements of who was to achieve the goal and operational specification of behaviors were generally present, conditions and criteria for goal attainment were not generally found. Only 13 % of the goals involved generalized use of problem-solving skills. Issues regarding goal specifications raised by the analysis are discussed. The data are presented in their historical context and offered as a baseline for comparison as Public Law 99-457 reaches full implementation.

Evidence-Based Practice: What Does It Really Mean for the Early Childhood Field?

important decisions about how services and supports should be provided to young children and their families. Practitioners need valid evidence to help them address the needs and priorities of children and families and to resolve specific practice dilemmas. Researchers rely on evidence to formulate their research questions and to interpret their findings. Policy makers must consider evidence on the effectiveness of specific interventions and programs to make sound policy decisions and to allocate scarce resources.

Research on Early Childhood Teacher Education: Evidence From Three Domains and Recommendations for Moving Forward

It is essential that a solid research base be established to provide a foundation that will enable the field of early childhood teacher education to examine whether, for whom, and in what ways teacher education matters. The purpose of this article is to review several important domains in early childhood teacher education to illustrate the characteristics, key features, and significant gaps in current research, and to identify the kinds of research that are most needed to enhance the impact of early childhood teacher education. We conclude by identifying five crosscutting research priorities and describing what is needed to create a supportive environment that produces—and implements—early childhood teacher education research.

Family-Professional Partnerships in Early Intervention Personnel Preparation Guidelines and Strategies

One strategy that is increasingly being used for helping early intervention professionals become more family centered is to involve family members in personnel preparation efforts. The purpose of this article is twofold: (a) to describe the types of and rationale for some of the roles family members have begun to play in personnel preparation efforts and (b) to offer guidelines and strategies for facilitating family participation in ways that model collaborative family-professional partnerships. The strategies provided have application across a variety of personnel preparation contexts (e.g., inservice, preservice, policymaking).

Implementing Inclusive Early Childhood Education: A Call for Professional Empowerment

We present two scenarios involving a familys experience in accessing a quality inclusive education for their young child to illustrate what it might look like if all stakeholders assumed responsibility for implementing the available research-based information to facilitate inclusive early childhood education. The influence and role of each stakeholder group (i.e., families, administrators, practitioners, college and university faculty, researchers) are discussed. We suggest that to move from mediocrity to excellence in providing inclusive early childhood education, professional empowerment must occur at the individual and program levels.