Investigation of the Evaluation Techniques in Early Childhood Education: A Comparative Research in the Greek School

Abstract

The evaluation of the pedagogical process in early childhood care and education is an up-to-date and controversial subject of study in the context of scientific and policy choices and actions (Charisis, 2006; Doliopoulou & Gourgiotou, 2008;·McAfee, Leong, Bodrova, 2010). The purpose of this paper is to investigate the evaluation techniques applied in preschool education by the teachers and prospective teachers in kindergartens, who are also the sample of our research, in the region of Epirus and at the University of Ioannina. In our research we used the structured questionnaire with closed and some clarifying open-ended questions. The data of the research highlighted the prospective teachers’ more positive attitude to apply alternative evaluation techniques to kindergarten but ultimately the difficulty in their practical implementation. Despite the limitations of the research, the data is the trigger for further exploration of the subject of teacher education and the reform of the curriculum in the pedagogical departments of Preschool Education of the Greek Universities in order to divest the kindergarten from the promotional character and the authentic evaluation to ensure the children’s development by themselves.