There are new pressures and familiar pressures on teacher educators to prepare teachers who will be able to teach successfully in a changing world, and who will be able to change the world. The question of how to prepare well-qualified teachers has become an international question with global responses and consequences. This book describes a stance and pedagogy for helping young teachers to be successful in the most challenging of circumstances. Self-study and Inquiry into Practice describes how inquiry can contribute to effective teaching in urban settings. The use of inquiry and self-study as a way of thinking about, understanding and developing one's practice and one's teaching supports teachers' continued inspiration and resilience, enabling them to teach all children effectively in the face of very challenging circumstances. Using rich examples and case studies of how pre-service teachers and beginning teachers have used inquiry to learn from demanding urban placements, Kroll shows the importance of using inquiry and self-study in learning to teach and also in continuing to learn as one teaches. Inquiry is a useful way to understand what students understand and what they learn from our teaching, self-study reminds us of the power and responsibility we have to ensure that all our students achieve their highest potential. This book aims to help teachers and teacher educators: overcome the 'wash out effect' of teacher education when teaching in challenging circumstances learn to ask questions and to pose questions to themselves learn to think about difficult theory in a way that will be useful to them in the moment make inquiry stance a 'habit of mind' be empowered as experts in investigating and improving their own practice. Being a successful teacher in urban schools takes a special kind of person; one who has been thoroughly prepared and one who pays close attention to the learners she or he is teaching. This book will be useful for both practicing teachers and teacher educators as they work together to craft excellent teacher education and teaching for all students, adult and child. It provides theoretical and practical ideas about how inquiry and self-study can promote lifelong learning and resilience in the practice of one of the most challenging, but rewarding professions.

Co-published with the Association for Childhood Education International (ACEI), "Educational Change in International Early Childhood Contexts: Crossing Borders of Reflection" examines the role of teacher reflection in a variety of educational contexts worldwide. Using a case study approach that integrates research, theory, policy, and practice, international contributors show how, in some settings, local traditions and values are honored while, in others, foreign educational ideas and programs become modified to suit local needs. Cases from Japan, China, Palestine, South Africa, Kenya, Finland, Italy, and New Zealand are discussed, as well as models from the United States.

Through its thorough investigation into teacher reflection practices throughout the world, "Educational Change in International Early Childhood Contexts: Crossing Borders of Reflection" focuses on the transformative value of these practices to promote change in early childhood education. Framing commentary from Linda R. Kroll and Daniel R. Meier provides context and places the case studies in conversation with one another, allowing for productive international comparisons in this dynamic collection.

There are new pressures and familiar pressures on teacher educators to prepare teachers who will be able to teach successfully in a changing world, and who will be able to change the world. The question of how to prepare well-qualified teachers has become an international question with global responses and consequences. This book describes a stance and pedagogy for helping young teachers to be successful in the most challenging of circumstances.

Self-study and Inquiry into Practice describes how inquiry can contribute to effective teaching in urban settings. The use of inquiry and self-study as a way of thinking about, understanding and developing one s practice and one s teaching supports teachers continued inspiration and resilience, enabling them to teach all children effectively in the face of very challenging circumstances. Using rich examples and case studies of how pre-service teachers and beginning teachers have used inquiry to learn from demanding urban placements, Kroll shows the importance of using inquiry and self-study in learning to teach and also in continuing to learn as one teaches. Inquiry is a useful way to understand what students understand and what they learn from our teaching, self-study reminds us of the power and responsibility we have to ensure that all our students achieve their highest potential.

This book aims to help teachers and teacher educators:

• overcome the wash out effect of teacher education when teaching in challenging circumstances
• learn to ask questions and to pose questions to themselves
• learn to think about difficult theory in a way that will be useful to them in the moment
• make inquiry stance a 'habit of mind'
• be empowered as experts in investigating and improving their own practice.

Being a successful teacher in urban schools takes a special kind of person; one who has been thoroughly prepared and one who pays close attention to the learners she or he is teaching. This book will be useful for both practicing teachers and teacher educators as they work together to craft excellent teacher education and teaching for all students, adult and child. It provides theoretical and practical ideas about how inquiry and self-study can promote lifelong learning and resilience in the practice of one of the most challenging, but rewarding professions.

Documentation and Inquiry in the Early Childhood Classroom explores teacher inquiry, reflection, and research and the documentation of these processes within a variety of school sites and models. Compiling underrepresented inquiry stories from practicing teachers and administrators in early childhood (0-5) classrooms in the San Francisco Bay Area, this book highlights the power of the community in supporting professional development for early childhood educators and the education of young children. Important elements addressed include teacher learning, children's curricula, parent and community communication, and equity and social justice for teachers, children, and families.

Co-published with the Association for Childhood Education International (ACEI), "Educational Change in International Early Childhood Contexts: Crossing Borders of Reflection" examines the role of teacher reflection in a variety of educational contexts worldwide. Using a case study approach that integrates research, theory, policy, and practice, international contributors show how, in some settings, local traditions and values are honored while, in others, foreign educational ideas and programs become modified to suit local needs. Cases from Japan, China, Palestine, South Africa, Kenya, Finland, Italy, and New Zealand are discussed, as well as models from the United States.

Through its thorough investigation into teacher reflection practices throughout the world, "Educational Change in International Early Childhood Contexts: Crossing Borders of Reflection" focuses on the transformative value of these practices to promote change in early childhood education. Framing commentary from Linda R. Kroll and Daniel R. Meier provides context and places the case studies in conversation with one another, allowing for productive international comparisons in this dynamic collection.

Documentation and Inquiry in the Early Childhood Classroom explores teacher inquiry, reflection, and research and the documentation of these processes within a variety of school sites and models. Compiling underrepresented inquiry stories from practicing teachers and administrators in early childhood (0-5) classrooms in the San Francisco Bay Area, this book highlights the power of the community in supporting professional development for early childhood educators and the education of young children. Important elements addressed include teacher learning, children's curricula, parent and community communication, and equity and social justice for teachers, children, and families.

Learning Stories and Teaching Inquiry Groups is a practical text focused on how ECE practitioners can establish teacher inquiry and reflection groups and integrate the use of learning stories to strengthen their assessment, teaching practices, and knowledge of child development. Drawing on relevant research and the authors' direct work with teachers, the book focuses on describing ways the authors have adapted the framework of the learning stories approach from New Zealand to specific US educational contexts via examples from several urban and rural ECE contexts. The book provides practical examples of novice through veteran early childhood teachers engaging and collaborating in onsite and cross-site inquiry and reflection with a focus on learning stories. This text will be useful for infant, toddler, and preschool teachers taking courses at the AA, BA, and MA levels, as well as teachers engaged in onsite professional development. This text will help early childhood educators learn to write learning stories as an observational and assessment approach to document young children's learning experiences and to deepen teachers' understanding of the role of narrative in linking child development knowledge with effective environmental design, high-quality curricular approaches, and socially and culturally inclusive relationship practices. The text will support early childhood educators' professional development through easily understood instructions and case study samples of inquiry work with learning stories through community of practice. Educators will learn how linking learning stories with regular, systematic forms of teacher inquiry, documentation, and reflection promotes a new image of children as holistic learners.