Studying pre-service early childhood educators' transition into the classroom: A longitudinal international comparative study

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This research will examine the relationship between pre-service teacher education and in-service teacher practices in early childhood education. Based on the 1st year results (reviewing the literature, finding gatekeepers, recruiting participants in each country, developing instruments, and conducting pilot studies), significant progress in the 2nd year of inquiry was to interview some participants in the United States. The PI contacted gatekeepers at several universities in the US and gained permission to interview six researchers and instructors who have been in charge of pre-and in-service early childhood education programs (i.e., participants are from the State of University of New York at Buffalo, Erickson Institute, National Louis University, and University of Illinois at Chicago). From the initial data sets, ECEC teacher education curriculum goes beyond on-campus learning; instead, learning with in-service teachers creates a harmonious and provocative learning atmosphere for pre-service teachers and provides higher learning opportunities in effective management and manner. Impacted by the COVID-19, still observing pre-service teachers on-site has been banned in my partner universitie. Therefore, methods of inquiry have been shifted from observing and interviewing pre-service teachers in Japan and the US, instead exploring “providers” perspectives (i.e., researchers and instructors who provide the pre-service curriculum and in-service training) through interviewing and observing ways of the curriculum have been implemented.