Teachers' Beliefs: The “Whys” Behind the “How Tos” in Child Care Classrooms

Chapter 10: Preservice Teachers' Beliefs about Curriculum Theory

“…Although most educators would acknowledge the idea that theory alone is insufficient for developing a good practice (Cassidy & Lawrence, 2000) and/or find competing and conflicting curriculum stories between what they learn in the university classrooms and practice in the school (Olson, 2000), I argue that curriculum theory remains a critical requisite in the preparation of teachers.…”

A Cultural Perspective on Professional Beliefs of Childcare Teachers

“…A Child Development Associate certificate or a college degree in early childhood education can qualify the teacher as being able to understand children and can adhere to developmentally appropriate practice. However, Cassidy and Lawrence (2000) showed that despite their professional training, teachers would draw on little of child development knowledge from their college or other professional education when they are engaged in childcare routine. Instead, they tended to resort to their personal experiences that reflected the social change in the macrosystem, or abstract system of cultural values (Bronfenbrenner, 1979(Bronfenbrenner, , 1994.…”

“…In fact, our interview data showed that they found the Chinese preschool more praiseworthy than problematic. On the other hand, more education was associated with more critical comments, perhaps due to greater awareness of professional standards (Cassidy & Lawrence, 2000).…”

“…However, there were a few exceptions -a few studies that examined the interaction between culture and profession. Among these, two studies (Cassidy & Lawrence, 2000;Wilcox-Herzog, 2002) used video as a reflective tool to facilitate teachers' articulation of personal and professional beliefs. In the present study we used similar methodology to examine the extent to which teachers' professional beliefs and behaviors reflect their cultural beliefs about early childhood education that is changing in response to social change.…”

‘Stop Thinking of Culture as Geography’: Early Childhood Educators' Conceptions of Sociocultural Theory as an Informant to Curriculum

“…Increasingly, teacher research in early childhood education has begun to focus on the educators themselves, seeking to understand the 'hows and whys' of their practice rather than to measure the effectiveness of their practice in relation to predetermined conceptions of 'appropriateness' (Cassidy & Lawrence, 2000). Genishi, Ryan, Ochsner & Yarnall (2001), in an extensive review of early childhood teacher research, note that:…”