This session reviews the present landscape of inclusive practices related to LGBTQ+ identities in ECE (early childhood) settings and describes a practical, research-based framework for facilitating meaningful inclusion of LGBTQ+ children, families, and teachers. Implications for EC teacher education are also discussed. Such efforts may also mitigate ongoing and increasing harm caused by a culture of anti-LGBTQ+ bias and discrimination. Online resources and the status of an ongoing research study to support these aims will be shared, as well as a reflective tool for early childhood teacher educators to assist in addressing LGBTQ+ identities in higher education settings. 

This study examined the impact of "Family Banking Time" journals on preservice teachers' engagement with families. Although recognizing its importance, many preservice teachers lack practical experience working with families. Participants were required to spend intentional one-on-one time with families outside school hours and reflect on their experiences. Results indicated various meaningful approaches to scheduling this time. Preservice teachers reported increased empathy for families, enhanced closeness with students, and a renewed belief in the value of family engagement. They also observed real-time improvements in students' academic performance, highlighting the significance of these experiences. 

This presentation explores how prekindergarten teachers enact Culturally Responsive Pedagogy (CRP) through a multimodal lens to foster joy and inclusivity. Drawing from a qualitative case study at a University Lab School, the session highlights how teachers utilize art, stories, songs, technology, and math to create a sense of belonging for diverse learners. By examining read-aloud activities and morning rituals, this session provides teacher educators with research-based strategies to prepare preservice teachers for defending DEIB initiatives through authentic, joy-centered pedagogical stances in increasingly challenging political landscapes. 

This participatory action research study examines how teacher educators can support preservice teachers in designing culturally rich dramatic play centers that promote playful learning in early childhood classrooms increasingly dominated by academic standards. Grounded in Vygotskian theory and Elkonin’s framework of mature dramatic play, twenty preservice teachers engaged in designing prop boxes incorporating print-rich, inclusive, and role-based materials inspired by Tools of the Mind. Findings highlight how intentional props can foster language, literacy, and social development while supporting cultural responsiveness. The study underscores the role of teacher education in reclaiming play as a central, equitable pedagogical practice. 

Preservice teachers are often asked to create joyful, creative classrooms but do not always experience this kind of learning themselves. This session shares strategies for integrating arts-based learning that support teacher candidates in taking creative risks and designing more meaningful learning for young children. Drawing on collaborative inquiry and course-based evidence, we offer practical approaches, sample assignments, and a clear rationale for centering joy in teacher education. 

Preparing early childhood educators requires attention not only to instructional competence but also to the complex identities educators bring to their work. This qualitative case study explores how early childhood educators express and negotiate multiple professional identities through arts-based inquiry. Participants completed an identity survey and engaged in a virtual focus group in which they created visual artifacts representing their professional selves. Findings illustrate how creative reflection can surface identity tensions, affirm personal experiences, and deepen professional self-understanding. The study highlights the potential of arts-based inquiry as a reflective tool in teacher education for fostering authentic engagement and identity development. 

As teacher educators navigating a politically adversarial climate, we found ourselves seeking not just strategies, but joy. This paper presentation reports findings from a collaborative self-study examining how teacher educators in Oklahoma planned and facilitated a day of state legislative advocacy for preservice teachers (PSTs). Through reflective writing, dialogue, and critical friendship, we discovered that collaboration became a source of belonging and resistance. When structures seek to isolate educators, coming together is itself a political act. Attendees will explore how joy, found in collegial solidarity and in PSTs discovering their advocacy voices, can sustain teacher educators in challenging times. 

As legislative and political challenges increasingly target diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging initiatives, early childhood professionals must be prepared to understand and engage with policy systems that shape early care and education (ECE). Simultaneously, sustaining professional commitment and purpose in advocacy work is essential for long-term engagement in the field. This study examines how a graduate ECE policy course prepared students to critically analyze policies while cultivating agency and professional commitment to equitable systems. Findings highlight how policy analysis, collaborative discussion, and applied advocacy activities fostered critical awareness of policy systems and a sense of hopeful engagement in shaping change. 

As early childhood teacher education programs navigate external pressures, there is a need for approaches that embed equity in program design while fostering joy, belonging, and professional identity. This session presents a cross-institutional case study of two credit-bearing Spanish-language Child Development Associate (CDA) pathways developed to expand access for a multilingual workforce. Building on a pilot with Latina family child care educators, findings highlight the importance of cohort-based learning, shared identity, and culturally responsive supports. Drawing on program documentation and reflective memos, we share early implementation and key design considerations, including successes, challenges, and cross-institutional learning. 

Participants will learn about an alternative teacher preparation and licensure program and discuss strategies to strengthen and diversify the workforce by addressing barriers to higher education for the incumbent workforce. Findings from a longitudinal study of students’ teaching efficacy, emotional well-being, and experiences with the program will also be shared. 

https://education.illinoisstate.edu/academics/teaching-and-learning/early-workforce-online/ 

The purpose of this presentation is to share information about in-class activities, simulations, and assignments used with pre-service teachers that focus on using engaging playful and joyful activities that will help them build knowledge about play and develop positive dispositions toward incorporating play when teaching young children. 

This study examines how collaborative reflection between two early childhood teacher educators fostered playful pedagogy in higher education over three semesters. Centering a playful and creative approach, the researchers moved preservice teachers beyond “learning about” children to authentically “seeing like” them. Through a thematic analysis, we identified a transformative “triple-lens” process–nostalgic, embodied, and agentic. Findings suggest that this internal transformation empowers them to become strong, resilient advocates for playful pedagogy in their future professional practices. Ultimately, by modeling “aha” moments in their teacher preparation program, we prepare them to view children as capable and active meaning-making individuals. 

This presentation reports findings from a mixed-methods study of elementary education majors at a large public university in Alabama. Survey and focus group data examined preservice teachers’ sense of belonging, preparation for diverse classrooms, and sources of joy and stress in their programs. Findings highlight the importance of field placements, peer relationships, and authentic teaching experiences, alongside barriers such as programmatic overload and inconsistent field support. In response, the research team piloted targeted interventions to strengthen community and equity-focused preparation. Implications center on using preservice teacher voice to inform joyful, responsive, and DEIB-oriented program design. 

Belonging isn't something that just "happens" in teacher preparation. We have to build it into the very infrastructure of our programs. This study examines how first-year preservice teachers at a large PWI experience shifts in belonging and identity across three pillars. Using data from first-year preservice students, it was found that belonging boils down to three things: feeling safe enough to be vulnerable with peers, getting close enough to K-12 students to actually care, and facing those "disruption" moments where personal beliefs meet classroom reality. This "belonging-as-infrastructure" framework responds to the current pushback against DEIB. 

This preliminary work for a mixed methods study examines how professional vision—the ability to notice and interpret classroom interactions—differs among preservice and in-service early childhood teachers. Drawing on sociocultural and social cognitive theories, insights from the literature and experts in the field highlight teacher education practices that strengthen preservice teachers’ use of professional vision, so they are better able to make equitable assessment-based classroom decisions. 

Two professors routinely met and discussed their pedagogical approaches and consistently noted the impact of artificial intelligence on their assessment of pre-service teachers. What began as a reflective community of practitioners, has taken shape into an intentional sharing of stories of pedagogy with the intent to improve their practices and bring joy back into the classroom enriching the learning experiences of their pre-service teachers. 

The Joy of Mentorship examines how preservice teachers construct their own knowledge about mentoring as a process, as well as explores the perceptions of both National Board Certified and Non-Certified Teacher Mentors. Results of a comparative case study compared and contrasted the mentor groups and identified four major themes. Findings suggest that high quality mentorship, especially when grounded in modeling, structured reflection and feedback, collaboration, and leadership opportunities – bring joy to the mentorship process, positively shapes preservice teacher learning and growth, and supports their emerging teacher identity. This research informs early childhood mentors, leaders, policymakers, and university programs. 

Teacher retention does not begin with salary; it begins with belonging. In early childhood, the first experiences teachers have with peers and mentors shape whether they persist in the field or quietly disengage. Drawing from experience designing multi-layered onboarding and peer partner models, this session explores how “teachers building teachers” ecosystems foster joy, psychological safety, and professional identity. Participants will examine research on positive interaction patterns and leave with a practical framework for embedding peer-based belonging into preparation programs, ensuring equity and connection are experienced daily, not just discussed.