Fieldwork with Infants: What Preservice Teachers Can Learn from Taking Care of Babies

The literature on infant care and education indicates that infant fieldwork has distinct learning opportunities that could work as an important supplement to more traditional field placements. The following study supports these assertions by providing an in-depth look at the experiences of three preservice early childhood teachers while engaging in fieldwork with infants over the course of one semester. The preservice teachers' perspectives and descriptions, as generated through individual interviews, reflective journals, and a focus group interview, were used to illuminate the unique aspects of working with infants and the impact of the fieldwork on their development as teachers. The findings suggest that structured experiences in the infant classroom pushed the preservice teachers to construct new ideas about development, curriculum, the role of the teacher, working with parents and families, and building relationships with children. The infant fieldwork also provided the preservice teachers with valuable opportunities to practice critical teaching skills--such as observation, collaborating with parents and families, and individualizing care and to make new connections between theory and practice.