I am pleased to introduce myself as the new Editor of JECTE. I am excited to step into this role and am respectful and genuinely grateful to be following Co-Editors Patsy Cooper and Abigail Jewkes, who not only continued the vision and work of a long line of distinguished professionals who worked to create and develop JECTE, but who also moved the journal forward on a trajectory to meet the changing field of teacher preparation in early childhood education. With the support and guidance of Taylor & Francis and Editor Shrikrishna Singh, JECTE subscription rates have increased, high quality of manuscripts continue to be submitted on varied topics, and the submission numbers, review process, and acceptance rates are admirable. With the dedication of these people and tireless work of reviewers and previous editors, the editorial board, and others, JECTE is a highly regarded research journal in early childhood teacher education.
Teacher education and preparation is currently under scrutiny. This attention brings forth great potential as well as challenges. As the field of early childhood education focuses on the development of the whole child, relationships and interactions as being central to children’s development and learning, and issues of accountability, similarly the preparation of the teachers who will support, teach, and facilitate young children’s growth and development needs to address and attend to these same areas. As an Associate Professor in Human Development and Family Studies with a focus on birth through kindergarten early care and education at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, I work with developing teachers every day and consider the multiple influences on their development and the outcomes we strive for our teachers of young children. I also mentor graduate students who will go on to prepare teachers as part of their faculty positions and contribute to the research literature and practice across a multitude of areas. We often talk of the complexity of teacher preparation, and as Editor of JECTE, my commitment is to address this complexity in the research, position papers, reflection on practice, and book reviews that are published. The journal offers readers multiple perspectives with which to view issues as we grapple with challenges and potential in the field.
This issue includes six articles which present a range topics critical to preparing effective teachers. These articles cover accountability through emerging models of teacher preparation and innovative methods to explore issues of marginalization and social justice in teacher preparation to the specific methods and strategies to address math and science teacher preparation. The articles in this issue address the complexity of teacher preparation and provide perspective and practice related to both the challenges and potential in the field. It should be recognized that these articles were selected under Patsy and Abigail’s editorship. This is a typical process in an editorial transition year and was agreed upon by both the past Editors and the current Editor. These articles represent the diversity and scope of work that I plan to address in my term as Editor.