Understanding the factors that affect early childhood education teachers’ self-regulation skills

Abstract

This study aims to examine the self-regulation skills of early childhood education teachers in terms of teacher-related factors (age, number of in-service trainings, professional experience) and factors related to the schools they work in (the location of the schools, the type of school, classroom sizes). Descriptive correlational design was preferred. The sample of the study consists of 239 early childhood education teachers. The convenience sampling method was used to reach the participants. Demographic Information Form and Teacher Self-Regulation Scale (TSRS) were used to collect the data. Confirmatory factor analyses were performed on the data, and model fit indices were examined The Cronbach Alpha internal consistency coefficients for the subscales of the scale ranged from .70 to .86. It is seen that the mean scores of early childhood education teachers in the performance goal orientation sub-dimension are at a medium level, while the mean scores of the other sub-dimensions are at a high level. Teacher age had a significant effect on emotional control and self-evaluation subscale, while professional experience, school type and school location had a significant effect on emotional control subscale. The number of in-service training courses was found to have a significant effect on goal setting and self-evaluation subscales. In addition, class size has a significant effect on goal setting and self-reaction subscales. In the light of the results obtained from the research, it can be suggested that incentives should be provided and experience sharing meetings should be organized to improve teachers' performance goal-oriented skills. Teachers' self-regulation and self-evaluation skills can be improved through in-service training. In addition, small class size and interactive teaching processes can play an important role in developing teachers' goal setting and self-evaluation skills.