Early Learning, Uneven Ground; Transitional Kindergarten and Pre-Kindergarten from the Teachers’ Perspectives

• In Event: AERA Roundtable Session Saturday 11:45 am - Gold 2
  In Roundtable Session: Bridging Gaps, Building Identities: Early Childhood Teachers in Transition

Abstract

This project examines the pedagogical and purpose orientations of Early Childhood Education (ECE) teachers in a changing policy context, attending to the ways teachers of four years olds understand their role in guiding students’ identity formation and social emotional development. This qualitative research centers teachers of color and their experiences and perspectives through narrative inquiry, explores the educational preparation pathways and teaching contexts of Transitional Kindergarten teachers and Pre-Kindergarten teachers, and how these pathways and contexts inform their pedagogical practices and sense of purpose. Findings reveal how Transitional Kindergarten and Pre-Kindergarten are similar and significantly different to one another.

Author

• Cheralen Arroyo Valdez, University of California - Santa Cruz