This study examined the role experimentation of university student athletes using in-depth interviews. The results revealed participants’ role experimentation was limited to three spheres: athletic, academic, and social. Participants’ exploration of and commitment to roles revealed a two-stage model of identity formation. The first stage, Over-Identification with the Athlete Role, revealed a singular focus on athletics that persisted throughout much of the participants’ university careers. The second stage, Deferred Role Experimentation, reflected an increased investment in academic and social roles in the participants’ upper years. Results were consistent with previous findings of an athletic identity among intercollegiate student-athletes (Brewer, Van Raalte, & Linder, 1993), but supported Perna, Zaichkowsky, and Bocknek’s (1996) suggestion that identity foreclosure may have been overgeneralized.

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While the national growth of interdisciplinary early childhood education (ECE) and early childhood special education (ECSE) teacher preparation has been documented, research into these programs is scarce. This study was conducted to gather graduates' perceptions of their preparation in a statewide system of ECE/ECSE interdisciplinary teacher preparation programs. A southeastern state implemented the new approach to preparing teachers to work with infants, toddlers, and young children with and without disabilities, and their families, in 1992. As one of the first stand-alone blended teacher preparation licenses, the Birth through Kindergarten license in this state is a competency-based approach to licensure combining the NAEYC and DEC preparation standards. A mail survey of graduates from seven state- and NCATE-approved blended programs was conducted during the first year of employment. Participants were asked to rate their preparation in state licensure competencies. Perceived strengths were higher in areas of general early childhood and child development than in areas specific to early childhood special education. Graduates reported a need in the preparation programs for more content and application in areas including working with families, behavior analysis, and working with children who have moderate to severe disabilities.

Interdisciplinary teacher preparation programs that blend personnel standards from early childhood special education and early childhood education are being developed across the country. States are designing stand-alone blended teacher licensure programs in early education. This article describes a national study that explored and described characteristics of these newly conceptualized approaches to teacher preparation. Methods included quantitative and qualitative data collection and analysis procedures. Findings indicate that there are many concerns and issues among faculty who are members of interdisciplinary teams in these new programs. The authors describe prominent issues in this emerging field of teacher preparation and provide a set of recommendations based on the literature and the findings from this study.

This paper presents philosophical, legal, moral, economic, and empirical bases to support educating teachers who are qualified to teach both typically and atypically developing infants, toddlers, and preschoolers and to work with their families. Content for appropriately integrated teacher education curricula is proposed and certification standards are recommended. Efforts by three states to develop early childhood teacher education guidelines and certification plans that integrate the fields of general early childhood and early childhood special education are discussed.