Professional Development Of Preschool Teachers Research Articles

Effects of evidence-based professional development for preschool teachers in Albania

ABSTRACTThis research explores two ongoing professional development (PD) modalities for early childhood teachers and their effect to teachers’ performance. We compare training, teacher study groups and a combination of both to a control group in the Albanian preschool context. We aimed to obtain mоrе cоmplеtе understanding оf different facеts оf thе ongoing professional development оf еarly childhооd tеachеrs and its pоtеntial impact оn program quality and children’s dеvеlоpmеnt in different еarly childhооd sеttings, especially in countries of low and middle income. This study has led to policy changes in mоrе еfficiеntly planning rеsоurcеs, not only fоr еarly childhood tеachеrs’ PD, but tо tеachеrs and оthеr practitiоnеrs in thе field as well. This research has pushed for evidence-based policy reforms in teacher professionalization and career advancement in Albania.

Confusion and Path of Preschool Teachers’ Professional Development under the Background of Big Data

The advent of “Big Data” has brought a new round of challenges to the professional development of preschool teachers in China. At the same time, it has also put forward new requirements for the professional development of preschool teachers. Based on the perspective of big data, this paper proposes the path of professional development of preschool teachers in the context of big data by analyzing the confusion faced by the professional development of preschool teachers in the context of big data. The first is to change the traditional concept and reshape the role of preschool teachers. The second is to transform the teaching thinking and change the teaching methods of preschool teachers. The third is to update the development model so that the professional development model of preschool teachers can keep pace with the times. The ultimate goal is to enable preschool teachers to better improve their professional development skills.

Research Review on Professional Development of Preschool Teachers in China

At present, with the increasing emphasis extent on preschool education in China, preschool education gradually moves from the edge to the center in the entire national education system. And the professional development quality of preschool teachers is the key link and important path for the quality of preschool education development. Take the literatures on the research on professional development of preschool teachers collected by China National Knowledge Infrastructure as samples. The research topics are focused on the four fields of preschool teachers’ professional development, including connotation, professional standards, influencing factors and strategies, and making an in-depth analysis of the research status of the professional development of preschool teachers in China. However, at present, there are still some deficiencies in the research on the professional development of preschool teachers in China. First, the theoretical research on preschool teacher professional development is still shallow, and it still needs to learn from foreign research results. Second, the professional standards of preschool teachers are not strong adaptability, whose operabil-ity is still needed to improve. Third, there is a lack of empirical basis for re-search on influencing factors of preschool teachers’ professional develop-ment; it is urgent to strengthen quantitative research. Fourth, the strategy research of preschool teachers’ professional development lacks practicality, so it is urgent to enhance the effectiveness of research.

Professional development of preschool teachers and changing the culture of the institution of early education

ABSTRACTThe culture of institutions of early education is a strong network of customs, rules, norms and behaviours that affect the daily life and work of all its individuals. Consequently, the professional development of preschool teachers is not only an individual process of professional advancement, but also a process that changes the culture of the institution of early education and includes all participants of the educational process. In this paper, we examine the perception of the preschool teacher profession and the connection between the preschool teachers’ attitudes about their profession and their focus on continuous learning and exploring personal practice. The research was conducted on a random sample of N = 238 preschool teachers in Croatia. For data collection, we used the Questionnaire for the assessment of the culture of the educational institution designed for the needs of the scientific research project ‘Culture of the educational institution as a factor of co-constructing knowledge’.

Does professional development of preschool teachers improve children's socio-emotional outcomes?

From 2011 to 2013 a randomized controlled trial has been run in Danish preschools to obtain evidence on improvements of early childhood education by providing training to the preschool teachers. The purpose of the intervention is to improve children's socio-emotional outcomes (measured by SDQ), especially for socially disadvantaged children. The teachers in intervention preschools received extra training in implementation of new pedagogical activities and principles, whereas teachers in control preschools did not receive any training. The results show improvements in several subscales of the SDQ scale. However, heterogeneity analysis is not able to demonstrate larger improvements for socially disadvantaged children than for other children.

ПРОЕКТИРОВАНИЕ ПРОГРАММ ПРОФЕССИОНАЛЬНОГО РАЗВИТИЯ ПЕДАГОГОВ ДОШКОЛЬНОГО ОБРАЗОВАНИЯ

ПРОЕКТИРОВАНИЕ ПРОГРАММ ПРОФЕССИОНАЛЬНОГО РАЗВИТИЯ ПЕДАГОГОВ ДОШКОЛЬНОГО ОБРАЗОВАНИЯ

CLASS Reliability Training as Professional Development for Preschool Teachers

Use of the Classroom Assessment Scoring System (CLASS) is increasing across the United States as an important indicator of the quality of programs for young children. Professional development is required to facilitate teachers’ understanding of the instructional behaviors upon which they will be judged. This study investigated the use of the CLASS reliability training process as initial professional development for preschool teachers participating in an Early Reading First project. Findings reveal that this use of the CLASS reliability training process did jumpstart changes in teachers’ behavior across the domains of emotional support, classroom organization, and instructional support, though the domains in which individuals were able to demonstrate the most improvement varied by teacher. These findings have implications for preschool teachers’ professional development as they strive to meet new standards built into many quality rating systems for programs in early childhood.

Profesionalni razvoj vzgojiteljev z vidika vzgojiteljevih pojmovanj

Nenehno poklicno učenje vzgojiteljev danes ni več izbira posameznih entuziastov, temveč nujnost in poklicna dolžnost slehernega vzgojitelja. Profesionalni razvoj vzgojiteljev v širšem smislu pomeni proces, ki poteka od odločitve posameznika za ta poklic oziroma od začetka izobraževanja zanj do upokojitve. V ožjem smislu pa je profesionalni razvoj vzgojitelja omejen na obdobja oziroma »kritične situacije«, v katerih se posameznik dejansko profesionalno razvija – spreminja svoja pojmovanja, stališča ter prakso delovanja. Pri raziskovanju profesionalnega razvoja razlikujemo različne pristope. Nekateri raziskovalci se usmerijo v raziskovanje faz, po katerih poteka profesionalni razvoj, druge bolj zanima raziskovanje dejavnikov, ki vpliva na razvoj, tretji dajo večjo težo oblikam poklicnega učenja. Kako vzgojitelji pristopijo k profesionalnemu učenju, koliko izkoristijo ponujene formalne priložnosti učenja oziroma koliko se učijo iz vsakodnevnih izkušenj, je pomembno odvisno tudi od njihovega razumevanja profesionalnega razvoja. V prispevku prikazujemo rezultate empirične raziskave, ki je bila narejena na vzorcu 92 vzgojiteljev na Hrvaškem. Zanimalo nas je, kako vzgojitelji pojmujejo lasten profesionalni razvoj in ali se njihova pojmovanja spreminjajo z leti delovne dobe. Ugotovili smo, da prevladujejo nižja pojmovanja profesionalnega razvoja. Ugotovitev je pomembna za vse, ki se ukvarjajo s spodbujanjem profesionalnega razvoja, in jo je smiselno upoštevati tako pri načrtovanju kot pri izvajanju izobraževalnih programov.

The Role of Relational and Instructional Classroom Supports in the Language Development of At-Risk Preschoolers

The present study examined the extent to which preschool classroom supports—relational support (RS) and instructional support (IS)—are associated with children's language development and whether these associations vary as a function of children's language ability. The language skills of 360 children within 95 classrooms were assessed using an expressive narrative task in the fall and spring of the preschool year, teachers rated RS in the fall, and observations of IS were collected across the year. Research Findings: Hierarchical linear models revealed main effects of IS, but not RS, on preschoolers’ development of expressive language skills. In addition, the associations between RS and IS on children's expressive language development were moderated by children's fall language ability. Specifically, the association between IS and language development was stronger for children with stronger expressive language skills, and the association between RS and language development was stronger for children with weaker expressive language skills. Practice or Policy: These findings suggest that professional development for preschool teachers might focus on aligning classroom supports with the needs of children with weaker language skills who are at risk for difficulty acquiring literacy.

Promoting early literacy through the professional development of preschool teachers

The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of a professional learning program on the emergent literacy skills of preschool children. Building Blocks for Literacy® is a program consisting of training supported by mentoring designed to teach early childcare providers how to promote the development of early literacy skills. A previous investigation found positive effects of the program on the pre-literacy skills of children in Vermont. The current study extended their work by replicating the training for Head Start teachers (n = 27) in another state. Teachers were divided into three groups. One group received the training and live mentoring; a second group received training and distance mentoring; and a third group of teachers served as controls. The results indicate that children (n = 97) served by teachers who received the training (n = 18) made higher gains on a measure of early literacy skills than those children (n = 36) served by control teachers. The gains made by children in the treatment groups were consistent for teachers who received either live or distance mentoring. Implications for practice are discussed.

Rethinking the Professional Development Policy for Early Childhood Education in Hong Kong

IN 2007, THE GOVERNMENT of Hong Kong implemented the Pre-primary Education Voucher Scheme to provide allowances for parents to purchase services in local preschools. The scheme includes the policy for subsidising the professional development of preschool teachers, which aims at upgrading their professional qualifications in five years, thereby improving teaching quality. This paper explores whether there is a gap between the policy objectives and teacher professional development through case studies at a time when the education reform has been implemented. Semi-structured interviews were used for data collection. The participants had some views in common about the positive aspects of the professional development policy. However, the findings also indicate that preschool teachers have a passive attitude toward learning, which might have an adverse influence on their lifelong professional development. The implications for the professional development policy and teacher professional development are discussed.

Developing teaching responsiveness to children’s inquiry in science: A case study of professional development for pre-school teachers

Supporting inquiry in the science classroom is challenging work, demanding that teachers utilize abilities for addressing and responding to children’s inquiry. These abilities include, (a) knowledge of the various forms of in-class scientific inquiry; (b) abilities for evaluating elements of children’s inquiry which teachers identify; and (c) a repertoire of instructional strategies, from which to choose in order to respond to children’s in-class inquiry. Developing these abilities depends largely on teachers’ preparation and subsequent professional development (PD) in teaching science. Our purpose in this paper is to describe the design of a professional development program (PDP) for pre-school teachers in Cyprus, seeking to help them develop teacher responsiveness to children’s inquiry. We draw on data from an implementation of this PDP to illustrate how teachers have begun developing their sensitivity towards children’s in-class inquiry and building a repertoire of responses.

Professional Development for Preschool Teachers: Evidence for Practice

This article summarizes the findings and implications of a study examining effects of a professional development program for preschool teachers with emphasis on mathematics.

Research Review: Professional Development for Preschool Teachers

Research Review: Professional Development for Preschool Teachers