Early Childhood General and Special Educators: An Examination of Similarities and Differences in Beliefs, Knowledge, and Practice

Abstract

In this study, we provide a contemporary examination of the similarities and differences between early childhood general educators (ECEs) and early childhood special educators (ECSEs) within a theoretically driven model that accounted for the associations of beliefs and knowledge with practice. We used structural equation modeling to examine the associations among these multifaceted constructs, controlling for background characteristics, for 147 ECEs and 78 ECSEs. Univariate analyses revealed differences between ECEs and ECSEs on measures of beliefs, knowledge, practice, and background characteristics; yet, when examining these variables in a complex model, this pattern of difference did not hold. ECSE status was predictive of differences in knowledge and one component of practice; however, in most cases, the differences between ECEs and ECSEs were not statistically significant. Implications of the findings and the importance of examining the associations of beliefs, knowledge, and practice within a complex system are discussed.

Going beyond defining: Preschool educators' use of knowledge in their pedagogical reasoning about vocabulary instruction

“…Previous research investigating both the knowledge of early childhood educators and the support for vocabulary development present in early childhood settings has indicated that both educator knowledge and enacted practice are less than optimal for supporting children's long‐term reading related outcomes (e.g., Piasta et al, ; Cash et al, ; Landry et al, ; Pelatti et al, ; Wright & Neuman, )—and that the relationship between the two is unclear (e.g, Carlisle et al, ; Hindman & Wasik, ; Pianta et al, ; Schachter et al, ; Spear et al, ). Our findings suggest that to develop a richer understanding of the relationship between knowledge and practice, it is important to uncover how early childhood educators are using the knowledge they hold in their moment‐to‐moment decision making.…”

“…The connection between measures of knowledge and children's outcomes is not conclusive. Some researchers have demonstrated associations between educators' knowledge and their enacted language and literacy practices (e.g., Hindman & Wasik, ; Schachter, Spear, Piasta, Justice, & Logan, ; Spear et al, ), whereas other studies have found no or minimal associations (e.g., Carlisle, Correnti, Phelps, & Zeng, ; Pianta et al, ). In addition, studies have shown variable associations between educators' knowledge and children's outcomes, in that knowledge only seems to predict a subset of child‐level skills (Cash et al, ; S.B.…”

Administrators as Heterotopia Architects: Supporting Expansive Possibilities of Inclusive Early Childhood Education

“…With the exception of those who attend blended ECE/ECSE educator preparation programs, ECE and ECSE teachers are generally prepared in vastly different ways, which impacts their professional development needs (Spear et al, 2018). ECE teachers have expressed concerns about their preparation to individualize instruction and teach children with more significant needs (e.g., Yu, 2019) while such skills are a focus of ECSE teacher preparation (Chandler et al, 2012).…”

Mathers (in press) Using video to assess preschool teachers’ pedagogical knowledge

“…Much is inferred, for example, in studies of professional development which aim to improve knowledge and have subsequently identified effects on practice (Dickinson & Caswell, 2007;Wasik, Bond & Hindman, 2006). Studies which explicitly assess pedagogical language-andliteracy knowledge have identified small or null effects (Piasta, Park, Farley, Justice & O'Connell, 2020;Phillips, Oliver, Tabulda, Wood & Funari, 2020;Spear et al, 2018;Schachter et al, 2016). Such equivocality is puzzling, given the theoretical value of domain-specific pedagogical knowledge and evidence of its importance in later education phases, for example, in the domain of mathematics teaching (Baumert et al, 2010;McCray, 2008).…”