Kindergarten teachers' certification status and participation in staff development activities in relation to their knowledge and perceived use of developmentally appropriate practices (DAP)

Abstract

Two factors are examined that may impact public school kindergarten teachers’ knowledge of DAP: certification status and participation in various staff development activities. Four research questions guide this investigation: (1) Is knowledge of DAP related to certification backgrounds? (2) Does extent of participation in different kinds of DAP‐related staff development relate to certification? (3) Does extent of participation in different kinds of DAP‐related staff development relate to knowledge of DAP? (4) Is there a combined effect of certification background and staff development on DAP knowledge? Knowledge of DAP was assessed with a modified form of the “Teacher Beliefs Scale (TBS)” and “Instructional Activities Scale (IAS)” (Charlesworth, Hart, Burt, & Hernandez, 1991; Charlesworth et al, 1993a). Three different certification types were compared: Early Childhood, Elementary Education, and Other/Specialized. Teachers were asked to report different kinds of staff development and teachers with higher levels of more varied types of staff development activities in their backgrounds were compared with those teachers with less background. Analyses revealed a significant main effect for certification but not staff development activities, the specific types of which differed by certification. Suggestions are made to improve staff development for public school kindergarten teachers in need of DAP knowledge.