Sheridan Susan M, Edwards Carolyn Pope, Marvin Christine A, Knoche Lisa L
Nebraska Center for Research on Children, Youth, Families and Schools, University of Nebraska - Lincoln.
Early Educ Dev. 2009 May 1;20(3):377-401. doi: 10.1080/10409280802582795.
In light of the current policy context, early childhood educators are being asked to have a complex understanding of child development and early education issues and provide rich, meaningful educational experiences for all children and families in their care. Accountability for outcomes is high, and resources for professional support are limited. As such, the early education field needs well-conducted empirical studies on which to base professional development practices. In this paper, we offer research directions associated with the processes underlying professional development, including areas in need of investigation that can inform the early childhood education field in terms of how professional development efforts exert their influence and produce meaningful change in practitioners' skills, behaviors, and dispositions. The paper highlights representative research from the professional development literature on its various forms/approaches and offers an agenda for research on the professional development process. Broad issues associated with the conduct of research on professional development, including considerations of professional development processes, participant characteristics, relationships, and sustainability are discussed.
鉴于当前的政策背景，幼儿教育工作者需要对儿童发展和早期教育问题有全面而深入的理解，并为他们所照顾的所有儿童和家庭提供丰富且有意义的教育体验。对教育成果的问责要求很高，但专业支持资源却很有限。因此，早期教育领域需要开展严谨的实证研究，以此作为专业发展实践的依据。在本文中，我们提供了与专业发展过程相关的研究方向，包括一些需要调查的领域，这些领域可以为幼儿教育领域提供参考，帮助了解专业发展努力如何发挥其影响力，并在从业者的技能、行为和素养方面产生有意义的变化。本文重点介绍了专业发展文献中关于其各种形式/方法的代表性研究，并提出了一份专业发展过程的研究议程。还讨论了与专业发展研究开展相关的广泛问题，包括对专业发展过程、参与者特征、关系以及可持续性的考量。
