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Transformative Pedagogies: Fostering Motivation, Enhancing Attractiveness, and Cultivating Commitment in...
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Transformative Pedagogies: Fostering Motivation, Enhancing Attractiveness, and Cultivating Commitment in Early Childhood Education Through Teacher Education

A special issue of Education Sciences (ISSN 2227-7102).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 June 2025) | Viewed by 10213

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Lotta Uusitalo

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Education, University of Helsinki, 00014 Helsinki, Finland
Interests: early childhood teacher education; life-long learning; well-being; motivation; future competencies; special education
Dr. Jonna Kan­gas

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Education, University of Helsinki, 00014 Helsinki, Finland
Interests: early childhood education; participatory pedagogy; playful learning; children's rights; play pedagogy; mathematics education; teacher education and teacher professional development; future education; learning environment

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The main focus of this Special Issue of Education Sciences seeks to share research findings, ideas, methods, and practices in the settings of early childhood education and teacher development. The implementation of teacher education has been shown to have a great influence on teachers’ future competencies, motivation, and, through that, the attractiveness of the career and commitment to a teaching position.

We are interested not only in the education of student teachers but also, and to an equal degree, in in-service teacher training. The continuation of ECE teacher professional development has increased in importance due to constantly growing requirements and, at the same time, often intensified working conditions. Globally, the turnover rate of ECE teachers is high, leading to labor shortages and weaker ECE quality. However, it appears that being prepared and committed, having the support of the community, and a willingness to develop oneself may contribute to staying in the profession and improving one’s enjoyment of it. Mentoring, teamwork, good leadership, and a fair apportionment of tasks are factors that need to be taught and maintained through a teacher’s professional life.

In this Special Issue, we welcome papers that deal with ECE teacher education, methods and ontological questions, motivation, well-being, the attractiveness of the career, lifelong learning, and professional development in ECE.

Dr. Lotta Uusitalo
Dr. Jonna Kan­gas
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a double-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Education Sciences is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1800 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • early childhood teacher education
  • lifelong learning
  • wellbeing
  • motivation
  • future competencies

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Further information on MDPI's Special Issue policies can be found here.

Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

20 pages, 2845 KB  
Article
Philosophical Inquiry with 5–7-Year-Olds: ‘My New Thinking Friends’
by Aimee Quickfall
Educ. Sci. 2025, 15(10), 1410; https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci15101410 - 20 Oct 2025
Viewed by 1203
Abstract
This paper reports on a small-scale qualitative study, using philosophical inquiry in Key Stage 1 (5–7-year-old children). The study involved a one hour per week session of philosophical inquiry in one primary school, ‘Philosophy Club’, with eight children taking part for six weeks. [...] Read more.
This paper reports on a small-scale qualitative study, using philosophical inquiry in Key Stage 1 (5–7-year-old children). The study involved a one hour per week session of philosophical inquiry in one primary school, ‘Philosophy Club’, with eight children taking part for six weeks. Multiple methods were used, including researcher observations, creative methods such as children’s drawings, notes, models, and discussion, which are combined to make ‘mosaics’ of data. Data analysis focused on broad inquiry foci from across the data, and in this paper, these are reported with reference to children’s views on Philosophy Club as a space to think with their friends, build a community and changing perceptions of club members over the six-week period. Conclusions are drawn tentatively on the benefits of philosophical inquiry clubs for building community and friendship with younger children, particularly in the wake of COVID-19 and potential gaps in social experience in their early years, and how teacher education in the use of philosophical inquiry might support this community building. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Transformative Pedagogies: Fostering Motivation, Enhancing Attractiveness, and Cultivating Commitment in Early Childhood Education Through Teacher Education)
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14 pages, 1136 KB  
Article
Thinking with: Relationality and Lively Connections Within Urbanised Outdoor Community Environments
by Siew Chin Ng, Jeanne Marie Iorio and Nicola Yelland
Educ. Sci. 2025, 15(9), 1109; https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci15091109 - 26 Aug 2025
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1670
Abstract
International studies have reported extensively on outdoor learning in bush (Australia) or forest settings (e.g., U.K. and Nordic countries). Yet, limited studies have investigated urbanized environments comprising community facilities and city settings. This study shares early childhood teachers’ exploration and engagement with outdoor [...] Read more.
International studies have reported extensively on outdoor learning in bush (Australia) or forest settings (e.g., U.K. and Nordic countries). Yet, limited studies have investigated urbanized environments comprising community facilities and city settings. This study shares early childhood teachers’ exploration and engagement with outdoor community settings in Singapore. Innovative practices emerged in response to the community and context in urbanized areas. Transformation of teaching happens during the research study when teachers shift from thinking about the local environment to thinking with, contributing to creating new ways of constructing outdoor teaching and learning experiences in an urbanized landscape. This study illustrates how teachers exploring the outdoors and thinking with places can open up conversations in building lively (and deadly) connections with the world. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Transformative Pedagogies: Fostering Motivation, Enhancing Attractiveness, and Cultivating Commitment in Early Childhood Education Through Teacher Education)
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20 pages, 539 KB  
Article
“It Required Lots of Energy from Me and I Didn’t Feel I Received Much in Return”: Perceptions of Educarers Who Dropped Out of the Ministry of Education’s Training Course Towards Their Dropping Out
by Nurit Lavi and Sigal Achituv
Educ. Sci. 2025, 15(8), 1025; https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci15081025 - 11 Aug 2025
Viewed by 1524
Abstract
This study explores dropout from professional training programs for early childhood educarers from the perspective of those who left a national training course before completion—a viewpoint previously unexamined in Israel or internationally. While dropout has been studied in various educational contexts, this study [...] Read more.
This study explores dropout from professional training programs for early childhood educarers from the perspective of those who left a national training course before completion—a viewpoint previously unexamined in Israel or internationally. While dropout has been studied in various educational contexts, this study addresses the research gap by focusing on the participants themselves. Based on semi-structured interviews with 15 educarers from four training colleges, the study identifies four key themes: (1) the challenge of learning in heterogeneous groups combining beginners and veterans that overlook prior experience; (2) the physical and emotional strain of attending evening classes after full workdays, particularly for mothers of young children; (3) disappointment with the lack of practical tools and an overly theoretical curriculum; and (4) the absence of emotional and professional support mechanisms during the course. These findings highlight a systemic misalignment between the structure of the training and participants’ lived realities. The study expands the job demands–resources model by framing dropout as an outcome of imbalanced responsibility across participants, training institutions, and workplaces. It calls for differentiated, context-sensitive training that integrates practical tools with theoretical content and provides sustained support to strengthen professional capacity and retention in the early childhood workforce. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Transformative Pedagogies: Fostering Motivation, Enhancing Attractiveness, and Cultivating Commitment in Early Childhood Education Through Teacher Education)
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14 pages, 955 KB  
Article
Young Children’s Play and the Role of Grandparents as Play Partners during the COVID-19 Pandemic
by Anne Keary, Susanne Garvis, Yvette Slaughter and Lucas Walsh
Educ. Sci. 2024, 14(7), 771; https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci14070771 - 16 Jul 2024
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 4066
Abstract
Play involves diverse meaning-making for young children and grandparents. This paper derives from a larger intergenerational family practices project conducted in Australia during 2021–2022 against the backdrop of the COVID-19 pandemic. The research team undertook intergenerational group interviews and filmed family play activities [...] Read more.
Play involves diverse meaning-making for young children and grandparents. This paper derives from a larger intergenerational family practices project conducted in Australia during 2021–2022 against the backdrop of the COVID-19 pandemic. The research team undertook intergenerational group interviews and filmed family play activities in addition to collecting videoclips and photos of young children’s play from six families. In this paper, vignettes from two families are described and given meaning. Rogoff’s social learning three planes theory involving the intertwined and interdependent—‘personal’, ‘interpersonal’, and ‘community’—planes is used to analyse the data. Our findings show the important role that grandparents play in facilitating children’s learning including through the creation of linguistic and cultural heritage play spaces. We argue that intergenerational play practices can offer a means to integrate linguistic and cultural experiences in young children’s lives by providing a space and time for social interaction and learning. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Transformative Pedagogies: Fostering Motivation, Enhancing Attractiveness, and Cultivating Commitment in Early Childhood Education Through Teacher Education)
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