Symposium on Questions about the Quality of Early Childhood Provisions.

Autor/in	Katz, Lilian G.
Titel	Symposium on Questions about the Quality of Early Childhood Provisions.
Quelle	(1993), (12 Seiten) PDF als Volltext kostenfreie Datei Verfügbarkeit
Beigaben	Tabellen
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Monographie
Schlagwörter	Tagungsbericht; Stellungnahme; Child Development; Early Childhood Education; Educational Policy; Educational Quality; Educational Research; Preschool Teachers; Professional Recognition; Teacher Education; Theory Practice Relationship + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Kindesentwicklung; Early childhood; Education; Frühkindliche Bildung; Frühpädagogik; Politics of education; Bildungspolitik; Quality of education; Bildungsqualität; Bildungsforschung; Pädagogische Forschung; Pre-school education; Preschool education; Erzieher; Erzieherin; Kindergärtnerin; Vorschulerziehung; Vorschule; Lehrerausbildung; Lehrerbildung; Theorie-Praxis-Beziehung
Abstract	This paper addresses two questions relevant to practices and policies in early childhood education (ECE). The first question addressed is, Given the worldwide focus on ECE, what are the priorities in practice-oriented research in school life? Educators struggle with the issue of whether research makes much difference to practice. It is suggested that the early childhood field is essentially ideological, and that practice is more influenced by ideology than by research. The second question is, If educators aim to raise the quality of ECE provided, what are the priorities for teacher education? In answer to this question, it is suggested that there is a strong relationship between the quality of ECE provided and the status of practitioners in the field. Factors that impact the low status of ECE practitioners are prevalent beliefs that teaching young children requires few skills and deserves low pay, and that teaching young children "comes naturally" and does not require professional training. The second of these two beliefs is countered by the observation that there are two differences between parenting and teaching young children. First, teachers work with groups of children, rather than one child or a few children, and teachers work with other people's children. In order to teach well, teachers should have a knowledge of child development. However, child development knowledge, though it can provide principles for practice, cannot determine the goals of education. These must be determined by the larger community. A third question, concerning the direction of educational policy toward quality or quantity of education, is raised but is not discussed. (BC)
Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC
Update	2004/1/01