Source: Journal of Early Childhood Teacher Education, Volume 32, Issue 3, 2011, p. 266-286.
The authors argue that it is crucial to prepare early childhood teachers to create high-quality environments that facilitate the development of all children.
The Early Childhood Ecology Scale-Revised (ECES-R) has been developed as a reflective tool to help early childhood teacher candidates examine their beliefs concerning classroom ecology.
The authors use cultural responsivity and classroom management theories as the theoretical framework.
The authors posit that the ECES-R identifies five dimensions that promote a high-quality, culturally responsive classroom ecology.
These dimensions include the sociocognitive, sociocultural, sociolinguistic, socioemotional, and sociophysical dimensions.
Evidence for reliability and validity was established.
Factor analysis supported the five proposed dimensions, with the identification of an additional dimension: sociocomfort.