Understanding Our Youngest Scientific and Technological Thinkers: International Developments in Early Childhood Science Education

Research in Science Education -     

全人发展的幼儿教育——世界幼儿教育的发展趋势之一

全人教育是20世纪70年代从北关兴起的一种以促进人的整体发展为主要目的的教育思潮,对20世纪80年代中期以来的幼儿教育产生了重要影响,主要表现在幼儿教育的目的、目标、内容、过程、方法和途径等诸多方面。     

Early Childhood Teacher Education in Australia

The complexity of preparing personnel for early childhood services seems common to many countries of the world. Issues and problems include length of courses, pre‐requisites for entry to courses, core curriculum content, age range covered in courses, education and care elements and practicum requirements. This paper discusses early childhood teacher education provision in Australia and acknowledges that teacher educators in countries of the world have much to share and the discussion of solutions can only better the preparation of early childhood courses. A common theme is the need to raise the status and strengthen the early childhood profession by the provision of quality courses.     

加拿大幼儿教育主要特色及其启示

作为发达国家之一的加拿大,其教育体系之完备、教育理念之先进、教育环境之公平,在幼儿教育领域有着充分的体现。文章对加拿大幼儿教育的主要特色进行综述,对其办学形式、办学理念、制度保障、合作运行及师资培训等几方面进行探讨,结合我国幼儿教育的发展,提出一些建议以供参考。     

Quality in Early Childhood Education: An Anthropologist's Perspective

I use examples from my ethnographic work on early childhood education and care settings in Japan and France to demonstrate that quality standards are cultural constructs and to question the universality of such core U.S. standards of quality in ECEC as low student-teacher ratios and multicultural curricula. My argument is that quality standards should reflect local values and concerns and not be imposed across cultural divides. In a heterogeneous society such as the U.S., notions of quality should arise out of conversations in local communities among early childhood educators and parents.     

也谈幼儿教育义务化——《幼儿教育能否义务化》读后感

分析当下沸沸扬扬的幼儿教育义务化讨论中的正反两方主要观点,研究者发现双方各有理据,但都有失之偏颇之嫌.深入探讨这一现象,研究者认为逐步开展幼教学券制试验,可能更符合当前幼教体制改革的实际需要.     

Men in Early Childhood Education: Their Emergent Issues

Using a focus group approach, this study explored emergent issues for men in early childhood education. Preservice teachers, classroom teachers, and male professors identified 6 categories of issues including low salaries, family, and other influences on entering the field, teaching beyond the basics, improving preservice education, recruitment of males, and advantages and disadvantages of males in the field. Implications of the study focus on ways to create gender-fair classrooms.     

Quality in Early Childhood Education: An Anthropologist's Perspective

I use examples from my ethnographic work on early childhood education and care settings in Japan and France to demonstrate that quality standards are cultural constructs and to question the universality of such core U.S. standards of quality in ECEC as low student-teacher ratios and multicultural curricula. My argument is that quality standards should reflect local values and concerns and not be imposed across cultural divides. In a heterogeneous society such as the U.S., notions of quality should arise out of conversations in local communities among early childhood educators and parents.     

Early Childhood Technology Education: A Sociocultural Perspective

We are living in a fast-changing, technology-driven world, where technology affects the daily lives of every person, directly or indirectly. While the importance of providing young children with technological knowledge and experience has been well-recognized, how the curriculum should be developed deserves greater study. Using early childhood education in Hong Kong as a case study, this paper argues that to be successful in planning and implementing a technology curriculum, we cannot consider only the technological aspects. We also need to take into consideration the social and cultural factors. Among various social and cultural factors, this paper focuses on: (a) the background of the students and their parents, (b) society’s perceptions of technology, and (c) society’s expectations of children who learn about technology, and (d) the approach and method of teaching and learning technology.     

Early Childhood Teacher Education: A Global Perspective

A couple of years ago I attended a presentation at a professional meeting that made a major impact upon my life. The session, “Ways of Achieving Excellence in a Global Community,” included presentations by early childhood educators from Australia, Hungary and Finland. At the conclusion of this sharing of ideas regarding what other countries are doing to improve the lives of children, I overheard an American colleague whisper to her neighbor in amazement, “My God! We're a Third World country when it comes to child care.” Without contrasts brought out by this session, however, this educator might have never been open to the world of ideas for improving children's lives.