Measuring Pre-kindergarten Teachers' Perceptions: Compliance With the High/Scope Program

Abstract

The research study examined the relationship between pre-kindergarten teachers' age and years of experience with their perceptions and their actual compliance with the norms of the High/Scope Pre-kindergarten Program. Teachers' perceptions of satisfaction with the supervisory relationship were measured by the Early Childhood Job Satisfaction Survey-Supervisor Relations Subsection (Jorde-Bloom, 1986). Teachers' perceptions of compliance were measured by the Compliance With Supervisor Wishes Survey (Rahim, 1989). In addition to measuring teachers' perceptions, the High/Scope Program Quality Assessment (PQA) was used to measure actual compliance with the program norms (High/Scope Educational Research Foundation, 1998). The results of the Univariate Analysis of Variance indicated a nonsignificant relationship between age and experience with each perception variable—satisfaction, attitudinal compliance, and behavioral compliance. Multivariate Analysis of Variance found a nonsignificant difference between experience and actual compliance variables; however, a significant difference was shown between age and actual compliance variables, specifically age and learning environment. The younger teachers significantly outperformed the middle age teachers, based on the learning environment sub-section of the High/Scope Program Quality Assessment.