Early Childhood Teacher Education Research Articles

The Training of Color Gradation in Developing Teachers’ Competent of Early Childhood Education and Raudhatul Athfal (RA) Maarif at Metro City

Based on the initial observations made by the author that most teachers do not understand the concept of gradation and have not been able to apply color gradations in pictures. The article aims to give an assistance of Training of Color Gradation for Teachers’ Early Childhood Education and Raudhatul Athfal (RA) Maarif at Metro City to develop teachers’ competence. The method used ABCD (Asset Based Community) to maximize the potential assets, which includes individual assets, communities, infrastructure, community, et al. This activity is specifically for Early Childhood Education teachers and Raudhatul Athfal Teachers Maarif in Metro City for 2 days. The implementation stages include carrying out an initial test through the process of coloring pictures, after that training is carried out, then practice and evaluation of the coloring results. The result shows that the teachers understand coloring techniques using color combinations, teachers can be creative with more interesting and sharp images and colors, teachers' fine motor skills have increased, so they are more confident when receiving personal drawing and coloring services Keywords: Training of Color Gradation, Developing Teachers’ Competent, Color Gradation

“DINO Vs. DINI” educational game to increase children's cognitive abilities—what are its level elements?

Games designed for children have the potential to serve as educational tools, incorporating learning components that promote engagement and facilitate the child's cognitive and developmental progress, tailored to their specific age group. The significance of Early Childhood Cognitive Abilities is in their association with everyday tasks and functions. The promotion of cognitive development in individuals with AUD necessitates the provision of many opportunities for cognitive stimulation. Children must attain fundamental competencies commensurate with their chronological age in cognitive development. The objective of developing this educational game is to assist early childhood education (PAUD) teachers and parents in delivering instruction through imaginative and inventive simulations. This study employs the Research and Development (R&D) technique, utilizing a 4D model. The instructional game incorporates many level features that assess difficulty, accuracy, memory, and thinking abilities. This educational game encompasses four distinct learning modules tailored for early infant development. These modules include word completion exercises, counting activities, picture guessing tasks, color identification exercises, and competitive elements. The utilization of educational games is anticipated to facilitate the enhancement of children's cognitive capacities, thereby preparing them for the subsequent stages of their primary education.

Teachers’ expressed understandings concerning sustainability in the Norwegian ECE context

Education for Sustainability (EfS) seeks to empower children with knowledge, skills, values, and attitudes to address global challenges while adhering to sustainability principles. This study investigates the conceptual understanding and pedagogical practices of EfS among early childhood education (ECE) teachers in Norway. Using mixed-methods design, data were collected through reflection notes, surveys, and didactic development projects, revealing fragmented understanding primarily focused on action-oriented, fact-based, and normative aspects of sustainability. The teachers emphasised waste sorting, recycling, and nature experiences, with limited attention to holistic and pluralistic perspectives. Despite curriculum mandates, sustainability had low implementation in ECE educational plans and collaboration meetings. The findings highlight the need for comprehensive teacher education and support to promote EfS and foster agents for sustainability in the context of ECE.

Effectiveness of Online Mentoring in Scientific Writing for Students in The Early Childhood Education (ECE) Teacher Program

The purpose of this study was to obtain an overview of the effectiveness of the mentoring process for writing scientific papers for Early Childhood Education (ECE) Teacher program students at universities that implement a distance learning system. The mentoring process is carried out online through the Moodle application on e-learning, webinar tutorials with the Microsoft Teams application and consultation via WhatsApp both video call and chat. The research design uses descriptive qualitative using questionnaires and interviews and documentation as data collection techniques. The research subjects were 30 students who took scientific work courses through online tutorials in the 2023.1 and 2023.2 semesters. The data were analyzed descriptively by processing the similarity of the subject's answers. The results showed that the online scientific work guidance process was quite effective in terms of task completion in the form of student graduation in this course. The advantages of this mentoring process include saving costs, time and energy and managing the mentoring process. The weaknesses include the difficulty in understanding the material and the ineffective revision process. Recommendation: to make the mentoring process more effective, occasionally the mentoring is done offline, or the mentoring process is blended online and offline. Originality produces new knowledge without repeating what has already been done by others.

An Inclusive Early Childhood Education Setting according to Practitioners’ Experiences in Yogyakarta, Indonesia

In Indonesia, the definition of inclusive education tends to be a narrow one. Even though the goal of the national policy on inclusive education underlines non-discrimination for all learners, early childhood education (ECE) practices still do not accommodate every child’s needs. This study focuses on inclusive practices in ECE by exploring the provision of inclusive ECE in Yogyakarta, one of the big cities in Indonesia, where ECE inclusive pedagogy has been implemented for more than five years. By exploring ECE practitioners’ experiences, this study aims to discuss the (mis)alignments between inclusive education policy and practices. The data sources are two-fold. First, we conducted online interviews with ECE manager and teachers (N = 5). The second form of data comprised ECE teachers’ online discussions on the topic of inclusion. The data collected were analysed using a thematic analysis method. The results indicate that distributed leadership, an organisational culture that respects diversity, and inclusive ECE pedagogy are the main aspects that need to be developed to enable inclusive ECE.

유아교사들이 인식하는 교사의 핵심역량에 관한 연구

Objectives This study aims to investigate early childhood teachers' perceptions of what core competencies are required for effective job performance in the field of early childhood education, and to identify the future com-petencies of early childhood teachers according to rapidly changing social situations.
 Methods Research participants were 12 current teachers working at early childhood education institutions, and three focus interviews were conducted, and the 52 transcripts were analyzed according to a qualitative analysis process.
 Results First, the participants wanted to compose professionalism/personality in teaching profession as a com-petence and emphasized basic skill and quality. Second, they insisted that infants and toddlers’ developmental stage need to be segmented, and thus the developmental stage by age of months and the details on devel-opmental characteristics after seven years of age should be added. Third, they argued that the teachers need to enhance their competences as a play supporter so that the 2019 revised Nuri curriculum can be operated. Lastly, they demanded the development of programs for interpersonal relations and the communication competences and the evaluation method improvement in evaluation and accreditation. The Although the importance of eco-logical transformation education, democratic citizenship education, and digital literacy reflected in the 2022 ele-mentary, middle and high school curriculum revision as core competencies for future education of early childhood teachers is recognized, there is a lack of understanding of the practice method in the field of early childhood education.
 Conclusions The results of this study can be reflected in the composition of the curriculum for pre-service early childhood teachers and the training contents of in-service teachers, which can enhance the core competence of teachers for future education. As a follow-up study, it is necessary to explore a core competency model for fos-tering early childhood teachers that reflects the core competency required in the field of early childhood education and responding to changes in the future society.

The enculturation process in early childhood education and care: a mixed methods study

ABSTRACT The aim of this exploratory sequential mixed methods study was to examine the beliefs of Early Childhood Education teachers regarding the enculturation process of children. Eleven 2-year-old classroom teachers (M age = 40.64; DT = 7.43; 81.81% female) participated in the qualitative phase, and 256 teachers (M age = 42.25; DT = 9.78; 90.3% female) participated in the quantitative one. Based on interviews, four main themes were identified: Routines and habits, Values, Models of behavior, and Knowledge. Based on the qualitative results, an instrument was created to measure the teachers’ beliefs regarding enculturation in Early Childhood Education and Care. High convergence was obtained between the qualitative and quantitative results, supporting the idea that teachers are active agents of enculturation and social role models for children. We conclude that enculturation should be a curricular objective and that it deserves a greater presence in professional development programs for Early Childhood Education teachers.

Exploring the feasibility of outdoor indigenous games and songs to enhance play-based pedagogy in early childhood education

Indigenous play activities are crucial to cross-cultural knowledge and practice and are gaining ground as a pedagogical approach in early childhood education settings. The study aimed at systematically documenting culturally and developmentally appropriate outdoor indigenous games that could serve as resource materials for play-based learning in ECE centres. Participants comprising teachers, parents, grandparents, and adolescent girls and boys were drawn from Lufwanyama district of Zambia. Data was generated through Participatory Action Research to allow inter-cultural dialogue. Data was analysed using thematic categorisation. Results showed that documentation of indigenous games can serve as a resource capital for enhancing play-based learning practice in an early childhood education setting. The study further revealed that integrating indigenous games can strengthen home-school linkages through active community engagement. The study recommends that teachers can effectively implement play-based learning when the reservoir of developmentally appropriate indigenous games is easily accessible to them. We further argue for rethinking early childhood education pedagogical practice so that learning and development are seen as being influenced more by contextually responsive play and exploration, than by direct instruction and teaching.

Cultural Awareness in Pre-Service Early Childhood Teacher Training: A Catalogue of British Cultural Elements in Peppa Pig

Foreign language teaching should integrate the culture embodied in the target language. However, raising cultural awareness does not systematically produce the intended effects when considered an integral component in the teaching context. This quantitative research study focuses on creating a catalogue featuring elements representative of British culture in the animated television series Peppa Pig as part of pre-service early childhood education teacher training in English as a Foreign Language (EFL). This prompts the examination of the potential of Peppa Pig to not exclusively enhance EFL proficiency but to foster a comprehensive understanding of British culture for non-native speakers. Eleven pre-service teachers at the University of Cádiz, Spain, analysed the 52 episodes of Peppa Pig’s season 1 and classified all elements into 13 categories, according to the Qualitative Text Analysis approach. To minimise differences between evaluators, each element of each episode was only checked if at least three evaluators agreed; therefore, 1050 elements were identified, with 501 elements verified in 48 of the 52 episodes. The resulting catalogue contributes to selecting the most significant Peppa Pig’s season 1 episodes concerning British culture elements. The major limitation of the investigation may be the fatigue experienced by the evaluators.

Leading early childhood education centers as professional bureaucracies – social organizational structures in Finnish early childhood education

PurposeThis study examines the social organizational structure of one early childhood education (ECE) center in Finland and the relationship between this structure and the roles and the responsibilities of the members of the organization.Design/methodology/approachThe research is a qualitative case study with ethnographic features. Its variables for content analysis are based on Henry Mintzberg's theory of organizational design.FindingsThe study's results show that the organizational structure of the ECE center follows the organizational configuration of a Professional bureaucracy and that the multiprofessional teams follow the configuration of a Simple structure. The structures for centralization and decentralization are suitable for a professional bureaucracy, but the roles of the members of the organization and the processes for shared decision-making lack clarification. The shortage of qualified ECE teachers disrupts the function of the organization and the work of ECE leaders.Research limitations/implicationsThe educational background of subjects may have affected the findings.Originality/valueThe study uses Henry Mintzberg's organizational structure theory to evaluate how and why power is distributed and activities are coordinated at the ECE center. The results also show what parts of the organization pose challenges that most commonly disrupt the organization's operations. With these findings, it is possible to expand the understanding of roles and responsibilities in the currently reforming ECE environment and what ECE centers need to function effectively. The study is part of a larger research project and will be continued to examine the leadership culture of the ECE center.

Enhancing early childhood education student teachers’ mentalization, interaction, and relationships: an online intervention

ABSTRACT Despite the growing importance of in-service teachers’ mentalization in early childhood education (ECE), studies on pre-service teachers are scarce. We embedded a newly developed version of video enhanced reflective practice (VERP) program in an online study module in a bachelor’s degree program to promote Finnish ECE student teachers’ interactional and relational competence via mentalization. The study module included evidence-based lectures and tutorials on children’s language development and teacher–child interactions, supplemented with multimedia material on a digital platform, independent work on assignments, and practical training. The VERP students’ (N = 21) and the trainers’ talk about cognition, but not about emotion, increased. The students rated their attuned interaction skills higher after the VERP training. After the study module, students perceived more closeness and less conflict in their overall relationships with children. The prospective ECE teachers appear to benefit from online mentalization training with complementary curricular content and teaching methods.

Mentoring and training for early childhood education teachers in facing the challenges of the Covid-19 pandemic situation

In Bandulan Village, Malang City, there are community of people dealing with the pandemic situation that need education for their children, but incapable to self-educate their children without the support of the teacher. This community service also aims to assist PAUD Mentari in providing free education to the children in local community. It is based on the phenomenon where teachers of this preschool face difficulties in carrying out common teaching practices concerning the pandemic of Covid-19. A community service team implement a series of professional development activities to enhance teachers’ skills in schooling management and crafting teaching media. The community service employs ADDIE approach. Outcomes of this professional development activities are in the forms of the PAUD Mentari teachers’ simple schooling management plan and crafted teaching media. These outcomes scaffold the implementation of effective early education schooling in a local community during this pandemic. The results of the Community Service showed that Early Childhood Mentari School teachers' readiness for distance learning during the Covid-19 Pandemic can be said to be good with educational standards facilities. During the pandemic, the PAUD Mentari school implemented a conducive learning model equipped with an online learning of Google Classroom application. Moreover, there are several aspects of the teaching and learning process at PAUD Mentari during the Covid-19 pandemic such as, distance learning, sharing learning materials digitally, support and communication with parents, creative learning activities, monitoring and evaluation, counseling and emotional support.

Development of Research Competency for Pre-service Teacher in Early Childhood Education Program using Peer Coaching Process

Purpose: This semi-experimental research aimed at achieving two objectives: 1) to develop the research competency of pre-service teachers in early childhood education through the use of a peer coaching process, and 2) to compare the research competency of pre-service teachers in early childhood education before and after implementing the peer coaching process. Methodology: The research sample consists of 30 second-year pre-service teachers in the early childhood education program who are enrolled in research classes in the 2021 academic year, selected through cluster random sampling. The research tools used include activities planned with a peer coaching process and a pre-service teacher research competency assessment form. The statistical analysis employed the mean and standard deviation. Findings: The findings revealed that: 1) pre-service teachers demonstrated good research competency when using the peer coaching process (mean = 3.97, SD = 0.52), and 2) the research competency of pre-service teachers in early childhood education after the implementation of the peer coaching process was at a higher level (good level) compared to their competency level before the trial of the peer coaching process (fair level). The statistical significance was set at .05. Conclusion: Upon closer examination, it was found that the participants exhibited good performance in all aspects, except for writing research reports and presenting research findings. Furthermore, the research competencies of the post-experimental early childhood education students were significantly higher than before the reciprocal coaching process. Practical Implications: This study can be implemented in the classes to improve the competency of student's research ability by applying these coaching methods.

Creating Moral and Ethical Tales of Pre-service Teachers of Early Childhood Education Programme By using Backward Design

Fairy tales play a vital role in fostering early childhood development. Learning to create fairy tales, especially fairy tales that can promote morality and ethics for early childhood children, will result in appropriate and sustainable social development for children. As well as resulting in pre-service teachers learning meaningfully and valuablely. Able to innovate on their own individual potential with a backward design learning model that encourages pre-service teachers and educators to know and understand common goals. This study aims to investigate the effectiveness of using a backward design learning approach to teach moral-ethical storytelling to pre-service teachers in early childhood education. Specifically, it seeks to compare the story-building skills of such pre-service teachers before and after the application of the aforementioned approach. The study sample comprises 36 second-year early childhood education students from the 2021 academic year. The literature and tales used in the study were selected via cluster random sampling. The research instruments employed included backward design learning plans and a morality-ethical storytelling test, with data analyzed through average and standard deviation statistics. The findings indicate that the backward design learning approach can develop the creation of moral and ethical tales for pre-service teacher s and the students had higher ethical storytelling skills after the backward design learning management than before the experiment in all aspects. Develop learning skills that can be applied in real life And see the results that can be used in the future, along with cultivating early childhood children to grow up to be good citizens of society with quality.

Expectations and Effectiveness of Preschool Teacher Training Program: A Case Study of Teacher Training Course for the Holistic Music Educational Approach for Young Children

This study examines the expectations and effectiveness of a teacher training program for early childhood music education, specifically focusing on the Holistic Music Educational Approach for Young Children (HMEAYC) and its integration with local cultural frameworks. Participants ( n = 30) from a private university’s Department of Early Childhood Development and Education, aged between 22 and 25 years old, were about to obtain their early childhood education teaching qualification. The 36-week training, consisting of 3 hr per week, employed collaborative teaching methods and collective reflection to gather pre- and post-training data. The results indicate a 90.91% pass rate for participants who successfully obtained the HMEAYC teacher qualification. While overall expectations regarding course identity, musical skills, and pedagogical competence did not exhibit significant changes, participants with better training outcomes experienced significant positive changes in psychological cognition of musical skills and curriculum identity, with no significant difference in pedagogical competence cognition. Furthermore, Spearman’s correlation coefficient analysis revealed positive correlations between cognitive changes in musical skills, course identity, and pedagogical competence after training. Conversely, negative correlations were observed between cognitive changes in musical skills and both course identity and pedagogical competence before training, suggesting a strong association between changes in music skills and other variables.

Perception for Safety Education of Early Childhood Teachers Observed through Metaphor Analysis

Perception for Safety Education of Early Childhood Teachers Observed through Metaphor Analysis

PENGARUH KEPUASAN KERJA DAN KOMITMEN AFEKTIF TERHADAP ORGANIZATIONAL CITIZENSHIP BEHAVIOR (OCB)

This study was conducted to determine the effect of job satisfaction on organizational citizenship behavior with affective commitment as a mediating variable in PAUD teachers in Sumedang District. Organization need to develop its human resources in a way that can build the high level of Organizational Citizenship Behaviour (OCB). Job satisfaction and affective commitment can became an important factor which affecting OCB. The aim of this study is to identify the mediating role of affective commitment in the relationship between job satisfaction and OCB. The samples were derived from a survey using 20 items questionnaire distributed to the 64 teachers of early childhood education in Kabupaten Sumedang. The bootstrap confidence interval used to measure the mediation. The analytical techniques used in this study will use Structural Equation Modeling – Partial Least Square (SEM-PLS) analysis. The result revealed that there was a direct and indirect effect in the relation between job satisfaction and OCB. Since the interval did not contain zero in the equation, then the research found these relations was mediated by affective commitment. Affective commitment indeed contributes as mediator in the effect of job satisfaction on OCB.

Exploring Chinese Early Childhood Teachers’ Mathematical Belief Profiles and Associated Teacher Characteristics

ABSTRACT Research Findings: This study explored the mathematical belief profiles of Chinese early childhood teachers and examined the associations with teacher characteristics. A total of 391 teachers completed the Early Childhood Teacher Mathematical Belief Scale, of which 36 teachers were interviewed to provide further information. The latent profile analysis identified three distinct mathematical belief profiles: (1) Constructivist profile, (2) Mixed high constructivist and traditional profile, and (3) Mixed low constructivist and traditional profile. Teachers with bianzhi, more than 15 years of teaching experience, and having received professional development in early math were more likely to adopt a Constructivist profile. Practice or Policy: The results showed there are intra-cultural variations in Chinese teachers’ beliefs about early math teaching and learning. This study highlights the need for early childhood teacher educators and policymakers to consider how to help teachers find an appropriate balance between western pedagogies and Chinese traditions.

Analysis of Curriculum Policy on the Performance of Early Childhood Education Teachers

This research aims to analyze the impact of curriculum policies on teacher performance in the context of early childhood education. The research method used in this study is policy analysis. Data was collected through literature study, interviews with education stakeholders, and direct observation of teacher performance. The collected data was then analyzed qualitatively to identify the impact of curriculum policies on teacher performance. The research results show that curriculum policies have a significant influence on the performance of early childhood education teachers. Implementing a clear and comprehensive curriculum helps teachers develop learning plans that suit children's needs. Apart from that, a curriculum that is closely linked to teacher competency standards also encourages improvements in teachers' skills and knowledge in teaching. However, this research also identified several challenges faced by teachers in dealing with curriculum policies. This research concludes that curriculum policy plays an important role in improving the performance of early childhood education teachers. To maximize the positive impact, greater efforts need to be made to increase the support and resources available to teachers, as well as improve their training and understanding regarding the implementation of the new curriculum. Thus, it can be hoped that the quality of early childhood education will continue to improve.

Human Resource Factors Influencing Gender Disparity in Development of Early Childhood Education Teaching Profession in Kakamega East Sub-County, Kenya

Education determines how well people can relate to and communicate with one another. Despite this view, the gaps in education opportunities in most developing countries are large. Public schools in Kakamega East Sub-County haven’t escaped the waves of gender disparities that have affected both private and public schools in Kenya. This study, therefore, sought to establish the influence of human resource factors on gender disparity among ECDE teachers. The study was supported by social role theory. A descriptive survey study design was used, which is primarily concerned with the generic statistics that derive from the extraction of data from respondents. The area of study was Kakamega East sub-county, situated in Kakamega County, Kenya. The target population was 1,106, including head teachers, deputy head teachers, teachers, program officers, and quality assurance officers (QUASO). Data was collected from a sample of 260, comprising 37 head teachers, 37 deputy head teachers, and 184 teachers, using questionnaires and interviews. A pilot study was conducted to appropriately validate the research instruments in advance before the real research commenced. Cronbach’s alpha (α) as a coefficient method to establish the reliability of the research instruments revealed a coefficient of 0.783, which shows that the instrument was reliable. Data was collected from the teachers in line with the three study objectives using questionnaires and interview schedules. Data obtained from the research instruments were analyzed inferentially and descriptively with the help of a statistical package for social sciences (SPSS) version 22. Quantitative data was summarized to quantify the strength of the association between the variables, and the researcher conducted a regression analysis to establish the effect of selected factors on gender disparity. Results were presented in tables. The findings revealed that human resource factors have a positive influence on gender disparity (t = 14.572, p<0.05) and explain 45.9% of the variance. It was concluded that human resource factors had a significant influence on gender disparity in the early childhood education profession. It was therefore recommended that human resource factors be considered in the recruitment of early ECD teachers. It is hoped that this study may help policymakers consider encouraging males to enroll in ECDE teaching.