Language: English

Abstract/Notes: The purpose of this study was to compare and contrast teacher roles in two early childhood education settings—a U.S. Montessori preschool and a traditional Saudi public preschool—and to examine the philosophical, cultural, and theoretical influences on those roles. Cognitive constructivism, social constructivism, and multi-cultural theories were used as a research framework. Data was collected from the two teacher cases in their respective settings through classroom observations, in-depth interviews, and lesson plan/student assessment documents. The study’s findings showed that the roles of a U.S. Montessori preschool teacher and the roles of a Saudi traditional preschool teacher are generally much the same. Though the contexts and the surrounding national cultures and educational philosophies contrast significantly, the work of an early childhood teacher can be summarized in five categories which were consistent between data contexts: academic instruction, relationship with students and other adults, personal and professional development, behavioral management, and environmental preparation. Complementing this general role similarity between contexts, however, was the contrast in aspects of these roles between the two case teachers: the degrees of their attention to their roles, their efforts to perform these roles with excellence, and their application of their philosophies within their particular preschool settings and national cultures. Internationally, ECE programs need clarity about teachers’ responsibilities and a greater awareness of the cultural and philosophical influences on preschool teachers’ work.

Language: English

Published: Kent, Ohio, 2017

Language: English

ISSN: 1071-6246

Language: English

ISSN: 1071-6246

Abstract/Notes: This study was undertaken in order to investigate the activities which took place in Irish pre-schools other than those within the formal school system. The principle focus of the research concerned the degree to which the pre-school children were being 'cognitively stretched' by the curriculum in which they were engaged. The social, linguistic, physical and creative development of these children was also considered.An historical review of the theory of play and recent research in this area was undertaken.Twenty-three pre-schools were taken at random from the membership list in Cork city and county of the Irish Pre- School Playgroups Association. One pre-school which was not a member was added. Prior to embarking upon the study, a history of the I.P.P.A. was given.The ethnographic research strategy was found to be the most suitable method of assessing empirically the nature and frequency of play in the pre-school. This study, which took place between 1986 and 1990, was therefore eclectic in nature, employing a multi-faceted approach encompassing a target child observational schedule, interviews, a study of classrooms, a questionnaire and an interaction analysis system.Briefly, the results showed that the 157 children engaged in this study were being cognitively stretched for approximately one quarter of the time if they were in a playgroup and approximately one half of the time if they were in a Montessori setting. Social and linguistic behaviour was limited by the actions of the pre-school leaders and physically or creatively challenging behaviour was rarely observed. The fact that the children played alone for half of the total time spent in the pre-school was most striking.The most important finding to emerge from the study of language in the twenty-four pre-schools was the fact that the children rarely communicated verbally. Dialogue was almost non-existent and children's questions were very sparse. In order to place the above in a National context, a questionnaire was sent in 1990 to a random sample of one hundred I.P.P.A. members in the 26 counties of the Republic of Ireland. Unfortunately, only 39 responded. However, of note was that approximately 25% of playgroup leaders had degrees and four-fifths of them were mothers in their mid-thirties. They strongly disagreed with the teaching of the 3Rs and felt that much more government money should be devoted to playgroups and in-service training for their personnel.

Language: English

Published: Hull, England, 1993

Abstract/Notes: Reviewed in Communications 2008/1 // In her dissertation she analyses the efforts of New Education in her home country and compares them to European reform approaches. In this context she analyses and evaluates a large amount of written documents and adds to her literary research especially for the ten alternative schools her own studies at these schools and interviews with the educationalists/teachers responsible. One of the analysed schools was a Montessori school, another one was a Waldorf school. The survey communicates interesting insights and findings about school development in an increasingly democratising Asian country that is scarcely considered in Germany.

Language: English

Published: Münster, Germany, 2005

Abstract/Notes: In May, 1991, the newly chosen Milwaukee Public Schools Superintendent, Dr. Ho,vard Fuller, visited Highland Community School. His main question to parents and staff assembled to greet him was, "What lessons can we public school people learn from you?" Highland people had cogent ideas to pass on to him. This book is a more formal response in which I hope the hundreds of people who have continuously created Highland in its first twenty-five years speak through me in answer to him and to his colleagues elsewhere in public education. Highland began in late 1968, and by 1994 was one of only ten schools in the entire country to qualify for state-financed vouchers to independent urban schools. It is small: about seventy ethnically and economically diverse students aged two-and-a-half to ten years, three teachers and three assistants, a full-time executive director, and three part-time helpers, including a parent coordinator. One of the teachers doubles as principal. Annual expenditures per pupil are about $2,800. The curriculum is Montessori-based. The building is a century-old mansion. The school is governed by a nine-member parent board of directors and helped, primarily in fund-raising, by an advisory group of trustees. It is located in Milwaukee's Near West Side, an economically depressed and violent neighborhood (Jeffrey Dahmer's apartment, since razed, was only five blocks from the school). This is the story of a small school. Faced with the vastness of urban decay and its impact on educational institutions, the reader might question whether describing and analyzing this diminutive organization has any relevance to urban education. Despite differences between it and stereotypical urban public schools, however, it brings a message to American education much more important than its size seems to warrant. Its size is precisely the point. Change nucleates and incubates in small settings. Our huge society conditions us to think in terms of large numbers, sweeping change, vast federal programs. Government may be able to create contexts for change, but the changes themselves have to be brought about where individuals assemble to meet their mutual needs. Whether their relationships will be harmonious and productive, or acrimonious and dysfunctional, depends on how the organization is structured and what spirit has been breathed into it. This book fleshes out the organizational and attitudinal reasons that Highland works so well and what public education can learn from this small inner-city educational oasis. As a framework for the organization of this study, let us first review factors that research has revealed make a school effective.

Language: English

Published: New York, New York: Garland, 1997

Edition: 1st

ISBN: 978-1-315-05106-2

Series: Studies in Education and Culture , 10

Language: English

Language: English

ISSN: 0010-700X

Language: English