Early Childhood Education Commons^™

Embracing A Pedagogy Of Care In The Infant And Toddler Classroom, Paige D. Wernick

College of Education and Human Sciences: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Care is a universal concept which connects us all as humans. Everyone comes into this world needing care and most of us will exit this world in need of care. Care is necessary throughout the span of our lives and should be considered a human right. Everyone is entitled to quality care, no matter their age or social status. The U.S. society has been entrenched in a decades long division between education and care which has historically prioritized education over care. This division has contributed to care being hidden and undervalued within the context of early childhood (EC) as a …

Professional Learning Communities (Plcs) For Early Childhood Science Education, Jungwon Eum

College of Education and Human Sciences: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

This study explored the content, processes, and dynamics of Professional Learning Community (PLC) sessions. This study also investigated changes in preschool teachers’ attitudes and beliefs toward science teaching after they participated in two different forms of PLCs including workshop and face-to-face PLC as well as workshop and online PLC. Multiple sources of data were collected for this study including participant artifacts and facilitator field notes during the PLC sessions.

The participants in this study were eight teachers from NAEYC-accredited child care centers serving 3- to 5-year-old children in an urban Midwest city. All teachers participated in a workshop entitled, “Ramps …