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Infant and toddler pedagogy has flourished as a specialized area of practice in early childhood care and education settings, yet it remains an under-researched area. There is also limited empirical research internationally that explores cultural meanings of meaningful provision for this young age group. This ethnographic study explored pedagogies of care with 1-year olds in four cultures--England, United States, New Zealand and Hong Kong--guided by Froebel's education philosophy and a view of pedagogies of care as embodiments of culture. The researchers employed sociocultural and ecological theoretical perspectives (Darling, 2016) to attend to cultural meanings at the micro, macro and temporal levels in relation to people, contexts and processes. This lens enabled the researchers to resist the positivist tendency to normalize and unify all children's experiences and maintain the integrity of diverse interpretations. Inspired by Tobin et al.'s (1989, 2009) cross-national research on preschool in three cultures, the researchers utilized a video-cued multivocal and layered interpretation approach to elicit the "voices" of 1-year-olds, their teachers/practitioners and families. This paper focuses on each researcher's discussion of the ways Froebel's principles of "autonomy in learning" and "freedom with guidance" were seen to unfold. The nuances of how these principles were manifested in pedagogies for infants and toddlers is explored in relation to each country's curriculum and cultural ideals.

Using a qualitative descriptive design, researchers describe and identify similarities and differences in the professional preparation of infant-toddler care and education (ITCE) teachers at university based teacher education programmes in Hong Kong China, Aotearoa New Zealand, and the USA. Researchers overview the ITCE landscape, describe statutory regulations, and consider major documents and prevalent ideas influencing ITCE teacher education in their respective countries. Key findings are presented from each researcher's analysis of the teacher education programmes at their own institutions and then summarised in descriptive narratives around four major themes: (1) country-specific values, (2) pedagogical elements, (3) curriculum focus, and (4) teaching practicum expectations. On the basis of a dialogic deliberative process, the three researchers then discuss the findings together by deliberating upon how culture in the forms of norms, values, prevailing beliefs, and expectations, appeared to -- intentionally or unintentionally -- shape the three different approaches to preparing students to become fully-qualified teachers of infants and toddlers.

Infants and toddlers (birth to age 3) learn what it means to be members of, and to belong to and be accepted by, their societies by adopting behaviors, attitudes, manners, and ways of thinking that are deeply rooted in what is valued in their culture. Infant and toddler teachers play a pivotal role as transmitters and maintainers of culture when they make decisions about the curriculum, engage in caregiving interactions, make pedagogical decisions, and use language. Cultural meanings ascribed to teachers' practices in 1-year-old care in the United States and Hong Kong were examined using video data and transcripts of video-elicited focus group discussions. Three important areas in which cultural transmission differed between the United States and Hong Kong relate to: egalitarian versus hierarchical societal structure; individualism versus collectivism; and different goals for independence. Social learning theory and ecological systems theory framed this study and informed interpretation of results.

The current study focuses on infants' sleep-wake states in group child care and relations of those states to infant-caregiver interactions. Qualitative case studies were conducted with four infants (3-7 months old) in an infant room at a child care centre. Video-recordings were the main format for data collection with the four infants and video recordings were made for a period of 3-5 h on each infant on a weekly basis for 11-12 weeks. Video recordings were transcribed using the InqScribe transcription software. Infant states identified in this research are important in the synchrony of infant-caregiver interactions, and have implications for caregivers' awareness of the impact of their actions associated with infant states. Caregivers took active roles in infant state modulation as it related to the infants' smooth or interrupted state transitions in the group care context. This research represents an effort to broaden and stimulate discussions on newer issues for enhancing infant child care practices and skills.

University early childhood programs attempt to balance a traditional tri-part mission: service to children and families; professional development of caregivers/teachers, clinicians, and researchers; and research on child development, learning, and/or education. Increasingly, infants receive care and education on university campuses, yet little is known about serving this population effectively within large institutions. Three infant programs at major research universities were chosen for this descriptive/comparative analysis of campus programs that have prioritized mission values differently. An adaptation of Bronfenbrenner's Bioecological Systems Theory was used to frame this qualitative study. Analysis uncovered three areas of distinction that provide a means to describe differences and similarities among these programs: (1) who holds the power in influencing the mission values and priorities, (2) the implementation of sensitively responsive care with infants, and (3) family-centered practices. (Contains 4 tables, 6 figures, and 1 note.)

This reflective essay describes the author's experiences as an observer in a behaviorist infant classroom. The author developed four categories of practice to describe what happened in the behaviorist infant room: (1) curricular focus on training typically developing infants to meet typical developmental milestones, (2) the use of highly structured play by staff as the means for meeting their training goals for the babies, (3) particular uses of language by staff in the behaviorist classroom, and (4) ways in which the staff's adherence to core beliefs in behaviorism led to a lack of recognition of infants' individual expressions of needs and wants. The article concludes with the author's reflections on researchers' ethical responsibilities when faced with an environment that they consider inappropriate and potentially harmful to children. (Contains 4 figures and 1 note.)

This study examined the relationship between educational background and the philosophical orientation of early childhood educators who worked as caregivers and teachers of preschoolers, ages 3 to 6 years, in one midwestern state (Indiana) in the United States. Specifically, the highest level of education attained by the early childhood professionals and their educational background (whether specific to working with young children or not) were compared to their self-reported beliefs about best practice with young children, using developmentally appropriate practices (DAP) as the philosophy for comparison. A comparison of factor analyses from this study and from studies conducted by Charlesworth and colleagues in 1991 and 1993 indicate clear similarities. A significant, positive correlation was found between level of education and scores for self-reported DAP beliefs. Results from 2 x 3 ANOVAs of the three factors that emerged from these data indicate that professionals with a bachelor's degree or higher more strongly adopted DAP as a philosophy overall than colleagues with less education, whereas coursework specific to working with young children was found to be significant only in the case of beliefs related to child-initiated learning. Thus, in general, participants with 4 years of college or more, even if in an unrelated field, held stronger DAP beliefs than those with less education, even if that education was directly related to working with young children. The article suggests that more research needs to be done to examine whether a 4-year degree may be most desirable in terms of ensuring better-qualified preschool teachers. The article also discusses the implications of this finding for policy and advocacy in the field of early childhood education. (Contains 44 references.) (Author/HTH)

Early childhood programs with infants and toddlers are bustling and alive in ways different from programs that have only preschoolers. Infants and toddlers can make group care environments more caring and family focused spaces, nurturing the well-being of all adults and children participating in the program. The number of infants and toddlers who spend their days in group care in either center or family child care settings in the United States continues to grow. Directors of early childhood programs that opened their doors to infants and toddlers and their families speak of added challenges and responsibilities for administrators, balanced with unique joys and benefits. In this article the authors speak to directors of programs already serving infants and toddlers and their families and those who may be thinking about adding them to existing group care settings. Very young children, birth to age 3, have care and education needs different from and more specialized than those of preschoolers, age 3 to 5. The authors describe practices, such as family-centered early childhood environments and policies, and individualized, sensitively responsive practices, that are beneficial to all young children.

At the same time young babies are developing an understanding of self as separate from others--what it means to be "me"--many also face having to negotiate living, learning, growing, and developing as part of a group--what it means to be "we". This is true for more than half of all infants in the United States under the age of 9 months, who now spend many or most of their waking hours in some type of group care outside the home. This article discusses how to encourage prosocial babies in group settings. It features three classrooms where teachers encourage and support prosocial behaviors in babies and allow strong positive social emotional development to occur in infants and toddlers and prosocial skills to flourish. In the case of these three classrooms, it is evident that infants and toddlers are indeed up to the challenge of grappling with understanding the difficult lessons of becoming "we" and "me" at the same time. This article also provides the authors' definition of babies' prosocial behaviors and shows how young babies have a remarkable capacity for prosocial behavior, an ability greatly underestimated by traditional child development theorists.

In this article the authors explore the need for early childhood practitioners and scholars to engage in joint problem solving to create and support early childhood education and care (ECEC) professional development systems in which all constituents benefit. Primary constituent groups and principal decision-making bodies are defined and analyzed, and the interrelated influences within professional development systems are considered. At the heart of the discussion is how decisions made by all constituent groups are interrelated and affect all parts of the system. For instance, decisions made about professional qualifications have an impact upon pre- and in-service ECEC professionals, current ECEC professionals, children and their families, and individuals within ECEC businesses and communities. Although the discussion in this article is about these issues as they are played out within the USA, the authors believe that the implications raised may be usefully considered by ECEC professionals and those engaged in professional development in other cultures and contexts. (Contains 1 figure.)

A team of researchers used a collaborative assessment protocol to compare the self-reported teaching beliefs of a convenience sample of preschool teachers (N = 57) to their documentable practices (i.e., practices that could be observed, recorded, and categorized using a deductive strategy). Data were examined from survey instruments, detailed classroom observations and time-sampling, curriculum materials, and program artifacts. Results indicated that when child-directed choice/play time, emergent literacy and language development activities were emphasized, teachers self-reported beliefs were more strongly aligned with developmentally appropriate practice (DAP) as a philosophy of practice. When consistent routines, organized classrooms, preplanned curriculum, and teacher-directed learning were the dominant behaviors, the teachers were found to report more "traditional" or academic-oriented beliefs.

In spring 2002, a national sample of more than 800 National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) members working in the United States in the care and education of children age three to five responded to the following questions: (1) Are they happy with their work?; (2) Are they satisfied with their pay?; and (3) Are they engaged in ongoing professional development? The members responded to these questions by completing the Early Childhood Professional Questionnaire (ECPQ). This study was conducted because it is important to take a snapshot of NAEYC preschool professionals through the lens of quality, focusing on factors known to contribute to developmentally appropriate environments and programs and positive outcomes for young children. Findings of the study reveal that NAEYC's preschool professionals are well educated in general and are happy in their roles and dedicated to their profession. The study also reveals that NAEYC preschool professionals across the United States are engaged in high-quality practices with three- to five-year-old children in early care and education environments.

Investigated the characteristics of early childhood education teachers who both state a belief in developmentally appropriate practices and engage in these practices in their classrooms. Found that beliefs were strongly correlated with practice, and were related to high personal teaching efficacy and internal locus of control, academic background, and experience in preschool education. (JPB)

Discusses development of symbolic thinking in toddlers as a step in language acquisition and skill development. Examines means of encouraging this symbolic problem solving, such as setting the stage for problems, helping children plan problem-solving strategies, and encouraging children in self-evaluating their skills. Examines development of symbol use in young children and its role in literacy. (JPB)