This study explores the beliefs and practices of nine beginning prekindergarten and kindergarten public school teachers and identified the sources of supports and barriers to their teaching. The teachers were graduates from one university's early childhood education program. Data were gathered using surveys, observations, and interviews. Overall, teachers professed to believe in and to use developmentally appropriate practices; they were also observed using more developmentally appropriate practices than developmentally inappropriate practices. Teachers reported a variety of sources of support and barriers to their teaching. Sources that were both supports and barriers were administration, co-workers, curriculum requirements, parents, resources, and other. Sources reported only as supports were previous experiences, self, and continued education. Sources of barriers were class composition and school duties. ln addition, teachers provided information about their teacher education program and on their expectations about teaching. The teachers suggested that teacher education programs needed to provide more field experiences and courses on classroom management. Some of the expectations the teachers had about teaching were unrealistic. (author abstract)