International Perspectives on Early Childhood Teacher Education in the 21st Century

Dr Wendy Boyd is Associate Professor in Early Childhood Education at Southern Cross University. Her research focuses on provision of quality early childhood programs to support the optimal development of all children. This includes parents’ perspectives on early childhood programs; the effectiveness and development of the early childhood workforce; and the provision of sustainable practices in early childhood education. Professor Susanne Garvis works in early childhood education and is the Chair of the Department of Education at Swinburne University of Technology, Australia. She has worked in Australia, Sweden, Finland and Norway as an academic. Her research interests are based within policy, quality and learning within early childhood education and care.

• 1 Contemporary early childhood education and care teaching training in China.- 2 Early childhood teacher education in Vietnam.- 3 Early childhood teacher education in New Zealand: Facts, values and uncertainties.- 4 Ireland's reform agenda: Transforming the early childhood education and care sector into one of the best in the world.- 5 Early childhood teacher education in Canada: Challenges and opportunities.- 6 Teachers and teaching in the UK.- 7 Getting it right for early childhood teacher programs in Australia.- 8 Developing teacher competence in Swedish early childhood tecahers.- 9 Current trends in early childhood teacher education in Finland.- 10 A comparison of conventional and less conventional ECEC teacher education models in Iran.- 11 They educate our children, but how are they educated?: Early childhood teacher education in Turkey.- 12 "Professional glasses" as a means of developing professional competence of future teachers in Russia.- 13 Early childhood teacher education in Germany: Academization between endeavour and resistance.- 14 Challenges to raise the universal quality of early childhood teacher education in the split teacher license systems in Japan.- Summary: Reflections from around the world.