Background
This study aims to determine the extent to which preschool teachers and childcare workers are aware of the presence of developmental problems among children and to what extent they share ...information with parents about their concerns regarding a child's development or diagnosis of neurodevelopmental disorders (NDDs).
Methods
We wrote to all 924 preschools and childcare centres in Japan's Nagano and Yamanashi prefectures to request participants. We then sent survey forms to the preschools and childcare centres that agreed to cooperate for three grades comprising 3‐, 4‐ and 5‐year‐olds in the school year 2020. We asked the staff member in charge of each child to complete the survey. The survey included questions about the teacher's concerns regarding the possibility of an NDD and whether the matter had been shared with the children's parents.
Results
We obtained data for 10 354 children from 206 preschools and childcare centres (response rate = 22.3%). Among these children, 457 (4.4%) had an NDD diagnosis that their parents shared with the teachers. However, the teachers of 1274 children (12.3%) had concerns regarding their development but were not informed by the parents about the diagnosis, if any. These 1274 children included 775 (60.8%) cases where the teachers failed to share their concerns with parents because (1) the teachers could not communicate with parents (n = 119), (2) the teachers were not sure if there was a neurodevelopmental problem (n = 360) and (3) the parents were not aware of the problem (n = 296).
Conclusions
Preschool teachers and childcare workers had concerns about the development of a substantial proportion of children in their charge. However, teachers and childcare workers did not share their concerns regarding many children's developmental problems with their parents. The findings suggest that there are challenges in information‐sharing between teachers/childcare workers and parents.
With an emergence of research investigating the educational impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, empirical studies assessing teachers’ mental health throughout the pandemic have been scarce. Using a ...large national data set, the current study compares mental health outcomes during the pandemic between pre-K–12 teachers and professionals in other occupations. Further, we compare the prevalence of mental health outcomes between in-person and remote teachers (N = 134,693). Findings indicate that teachers reported a greater prevalence of anxiety symptoms than did those in other professions and that remote teachers reported significantly higher levels of distress than did those teaching in person. We summarize the policy implications of these results.
Based on the prosocial classroom model, this three-level meta-analysis synthesizes the associations between early childhood educators' (ECEs) social-emotional competence (SEC) and their well-being, ...teacher-student relationships, classroom management, social-emotional learning (SEL) implementation, student SEC, and organizational outcomes. Fifty-one studies with 511 effect sizes were included (N = 19,738). The results of random effect models revealed that ECEs' SEC was directly associated with positive well-being, close teacher-student relationships, effective classroom management, successful SEL implementation, and favorable organizational outcomes. These associations were largely invariant across teacher work experience, educational level, cultural background, and study design, although they were sporadically moderated by SEC components, teacher age, and quality of study. ECEs' SEC was not significantly related to students' overall SEC, but to students' social skills. Taken together, these findings support and advance the prosocial classroom model and highlight the importance of enhancing ECEs' SEC in fostering positive teacher, student, classroom, and organizational outcomes.
•ECEs' SEC was positively related to teachers' own well-being, classroom management, SEL implementation, and organizational outcomes.•ECEs' SEC was not related to students' overall SEC.•ECEs' SEC was positively related to students' social skills but not to emotional or behavioral problems.•The above associations were largely invariant across work experience, educational level, cultural background, and study design.•The above associations were sporadically moderated by SEC components, teacher age, and quality of study.
The objective of this study is to delve into the underlying mechanisms between mindfulness and burnout among preschool teachers. Employing a cross-sectional research design, this study surveyed 1,980 ...Chinese preschool teachers using the Mindful Attention Awareness Scale (MAAS), Preschool Teacher Dispositional Equanimity Questionnaire (PTDEQ), Empathy Scale (ME), and Maslach Burnout Inventory for Educators (MBI-ES). The results revealed a significant negative correlation between preschool teachers’ mindfulness and burnout. A mediation analysis demonstrated that dispositional equanimity served as a mediator between mindfulness and preschool teacher burnout. Furthermore, a moderation analysis indicated that empathy moderated the influence of dispositional equanimity on preschool teacher burnout. These findings suggest that mindfulness can enable preschool teachers to better cope with workplace challenges with a more peaceful mindset.
The purpose of this study was to examine preschool teachers and parents' attitudes and their practices regarding the use of digital technologies during preschool education. The main research ...questions the study intended to address focused on teachers' and parents' attitudes and practices about the role of digital technology supplies in young children's development. The study used a mixed research approach, using in-depth interviews and an online questionnaire. The results have shown that only one of the eight preschool teachers reported a positive attitude regarding the impact of digital technology in children's development. Most of the interviewed preschool teachers showed preference towards authentic play and activities exercising children's psycho-motor skills. However, most of parents have suggested that their children, starting from early years of their development, are exposed to different digital technologies. In conclusion, there are two contradictory findings (progressive and regressive philosophies) among parents and preschool teachers regarding their perceptions and practices on the use of digital technologies in young children's learning and development. The study advocates for continuous cooperation between parents and teachers to ensure prospects of maximizing benefits and alleviating potential risks of using digital technologies in early childhood education.
Preschool teachers' domain-specific professional knowledge is assumed to play an important role in the quality of early childhood education and thus in young children's learning in different areas. ...Due to a lack of adequate instruments little is known about preschool teachers' science-specific knowledge. In order to develop such a test instrument, we reviewed the literature on preschool teachers' professional knowledge. On the basis of our literature review, we conceptualized preschool teachers' science-specific content knowledge (concepts and inquiry) and pedagogical content knowledge. Drawing on this conceptualization, we developed a first version of a paper-and-pencil test focusing on physical and chemical contents, which was administered to a sample of N = 318 German preschool teachers. The test showed acceptable-to-satisfactory reliability. In addition, we present indicators for the validity of our test instrument. Results of confirmatory factor analyses indicated that preschool teachers' science-specific content knowledge of concepts, content knowledge about inquiry, and pedagogical content knowledge were empirically separable, but with high latent correlations. Further development of standardized instruments is a prerequisite to generate more knowledge regarding preschool teachers' science-specific knowledge, for instance concerning effects on instructional quality and effects of professional development programs for preschool teachers.
This study compares the STEM Pedagogical Content Knowledge of Greek and Turkish preschool teachers. The present research is a comparative descriptive study that aims to determine the STEM Pedagogical ...Content Knowledge of preschool teachers from Greece and Turkey. A descriptive survey model, a method used in quantitative research, was used as this study’s primary research method. The STEM Pedagogical Content Knowledge Scale (STEMPCK) was used in this study. Six hundred sixty-nine preschool teachers - 104 Greek and 565 Turkish teachers - participated in this study. The STEMPCK Scale’s construct validity and reliability were tested using this study’s data set, which was found to be both valid and reliable. No significant difference was found between the STEMPCK scores of Greek and Turkish preschool teachers. The significant differentiation of STEMPCK scores based on whether the teachers had received any STEM training is discussed in light of the relevant literature. This study determines and compares STEMPCK among preschool teachers from disparate countries such as Greece and Turkey and is expected to contribute to the literature.
Preschool teachers' science-specific competences have been shown to influence their science instruction, which in turn appear directly related to the development of children's science competences. ...Initial teacher education and in-service professional development may include learning opportunities to acquire science-specific competences necessary for teaching science in preschool. Knowledge about the effects of learning opportunities in initial teacher education and in-service professional development on preschool teachers' science-specific competences is limited but highly relevant for research, policy and practice. This paper examines the effects of learning opportunities in preschool teachers' initial teacher education and in-service professional development on their science-specific professional knowledge and motivation regarding early science education. Controlling for preschool teachers' socio-demographic and educational background and their learning opportunities in their initial teacher education, regression analysis revealed significant positive relations between in-service professional development courses and their self-efficacy beliefs, enthusiasm and science-specific content knowledge. With regard to science courses in initial teacher education, controlling for preschool teachers' socio-demographic and educational background and the number of professional development courses taken, we found significant positive relations between the courses in initial teacher education and their science-specific pedagogical content knowledge and self-efficacy beliefs. These results indicate that the provided learning opportunities provided could promote preschool teachers' competences. However, due to the heterogeneity in the learning opportunities and science-specific competences, policymakers and professional development providers may ensure that all preschool teachers receive sufficient learning opportunities to further their professional competences.
Background: Spiritual competence means understanding the difference between spirituality and religion; and between spirituality, religion, and culture.
Objectives: This study aims to investigate the ...effectiveness of spiritual competence training on the psychological well-being of preschool teachers.
Methods: This is a quantitative, semi-experimental, pre-test-post-test study with a control group. The statistical population included all preschool teachers in Birjand city in the academic year 2019 - 2020. Using the purposeful sampling method and following the inclusion and exclusion criteria, 40 participants were randomly selected and divided into two experimental and control groups. The experimental group received the educational package of spiritual competence in 12 sessions, and the control group did not receive any intervention. In order to analyze the data, the analysis of variance test was used with repeated measures after observing the statistical assumption.
Results: The mean age of the participants was 37.38 ± 7.39 years. All of the participants were female (100%). The results of the present study showed that the educational package of spiritual competence was effective for the psychological well-being of preschool teachers. The results of the test of simple effects between groups in three stages of measurement showed that there is no significant difference between the two experimental and control groups in the pre-test. Post-test and follow-up, there is a significant difference between the two experimental and control groups, and the average of the experimental group is higher in the two stages of post-test and follow-up.
Conclusions: According to the findings, it can be said that the educational package of spiritual competence evaluated in the present study can help in increasing the mental health and psychological well-being of preschool teachers.
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