\u27Baby Teachers\u27: How Pre-Service Early Childhood Students Transform Their Conceptions of Teaching and Learning Through An Infant Practicum

This qualitative study explores how working with infants changed pre-service early childhood students\u27 thinking about important aspects of early childhood education. Through a qualitative analysis of four pre-service early childhood students\u27 weekly dialogue journals during a required, one-semester infant practicum, the authors discovered how the course provided a context for challenging students\u27 previously held notions about early childhood teaching and learning. Their findings showed that infants\u27 ways of being were a powerful influence on pre-service early childhood students\u27 sense of themselves as teachers and emphasized the value of hands-on experiences with infants as an important component of early childhood professional preparation