Early Childhood Teacher Education: How the Ideals of the Rachel McMillan Teacher Training College Influence Contemporary Teacher Education in a London Institution of Higher Education

• In Event: Roundtable Session 26
  In Roundtable Session: Schools, Communities, and Teacher Education: Considering New Perspectives

Abstract

According to Margaret McMillan, a philanthropist, educationalist and socialist at the turn of the last century, teachers of young children must have “a finer perception and a wider training and outlook than is needed by any other kind of teacher” (McMillan, 1919).

One hundred years later, Goldsmiths University of London offers a Teacher Education programme specific to educating future teachers of young children through the South Thames Early Education Partnership project. Students are immersed in Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) practices and experiences in outstanding programmes that embrace McMillan’s ideals.

This paper explores McMillan’s ideals that are still at the foundation of Goldsmiths’ teacher education programme and the teaching and learning that transpires in the the STEEP programme.

Author

• Betty J. Liebovich, University of London - Goldsmiths