The article reveals the essence of the phenomenon "professional culture of future educators of preschool educational institutions" viewed as a complex integral formation within a holistic structure ...of a personality. It is characterized by a positive attitude to the subjects and objects of pedagogical activity (axiological component), deep and systematized professional knowledge, skills and competencies (cognitive component), as well as personal and professional qualities that reflect the level of mastery of a special area of knowledge (personal component) and find their manifestation in pedagogical activity (reflexive component). Criteria (specified by indicators) that characterize levels of professional culture development of future preschool educators have been determined, including: informational, motivational, behavioral and appraisal-creative. Pedagogical conditions for the formation of professional culture of future preschool educators in the process of their professional training have been substantiated. The above-mentioned pedagogical conditions presuppose: activation of educational activities of future preschool educators in the cultural and educational environment of a higher pedagogical institution; provision of interactive technological support for the educational process of future preschool educators; integration of the content of normative professional disciplines. The technique of forming the professional culture of future educators of preschool educational institutions is presented.
Abstract This study aims to explore preschool educators’ attitudes towards to information and communication technology (ICT), its factors and implementation of ICT tools in preschool education by the ...educators. To this end, a mixed-method research approach was applied, comprising qualitative and quantitative data, collected using survey and field observation. The data, gathered from 58 preschool educators from the north of Portugal, were analysed by SPSS and the qualitative data gathered by five classroom observations analysed by thematic analysis method. Findings indicated that preschool educators have positive attitudes towards ICT integration in education regardless of age, years of teaching experience and attending professional course predictors. Additionally, educators use ICT tools as materials to enhance classroom activities, engage children, and conduct research with them. The results of this study reveal that preschool educators hold positive attitudes toward ICT and actively implement activities using ICT. However, educators are still the main users of ICT in the classroom. It was also observed that as these five classrooms lack the technological infrastructure, the educators usually rely on their personal resources. The lack of ICT resources could affect the independent use of ICT by the children. According to the findings, the study recommends that there are some schools in Portugal that lack ICT infrastructure. In order to overcome this situation, school leaders and policymakers should invest in ICT infrastructure in preschool institutions in Portugal that face a lack of ICT tools.
Early childhood educators' math anxiety and its relation to their frequency of pedagogic actions was examined through a questionnaire completed by 352 participants (aged 21-65) representative of the ...Swedish municipality where the study was conducted. Our sample contained 189 certified preschool teachers and 163 preschool caregivers who significantly differed in their ratings reported for math teaching anxiety. Results revealed that certified preschool teachers who reported higher levels of math anxiety also reported teaching and talking about mathematics content less frequently. When controlling for certified preschool teachers' gender and age, years of work in preschools, and whether they work only with younger (1-3), older (4-6) or with both groups of children (1-6-year-old), certified preschool teachers' general math anxiety and math teaching anxiety predicted their reported frequency of math teaching and frequency of conversations about numbers, patterns, and geometric concepts with peak strength in gatherings, excursions and situations designed to teach mathematics to preschool children. Preschool caregivers' math anxiety measures and their reported frequency of pedagogic actions did not display statistically significant relations. Findings showed setting specific associations between certified preschool teachers general math anxiety, math teaching anxiety and their avoidance of mathematics content, highlighting the importance of early childhood educators' awareness of math anxiety, its nature, and consequences for teaching practices.
The purpose of this study was to apply the Predisposing, Reinforcing, and Enabling Constructs in Educational Diagnosis and Evaluation (PRECEDE) model to analyze the factors influencing preschool ...educators' ability to teach health education through life skills.
This cross-sectional study utilized stratified random sampling and administered survey questionnaires to 503 preschool educators in public and private kindergartens in Taipei City and New Taipei City in 2019. Descriptive and hierarchical regression analyses were conducted. The PRECEDE model demonstrated a significant correlation between the enabling, reinforcing, and predisposing factors explored in this study and the preschool educators' ability to teach health education through life skills.
The variables explained 25% of the total variance in the ability to teach health education through life skills. When controlled in individual layers, the background variables and the enabling, reinforcing, and predisposing factors demonstrated explanatory powers of 6, 5, 7, and 7%, respectively, with respect to the ability to teach health education by utilizing life skills.
Enhancement of the enabling, reinforcing, and predisposing factors can improve preschool educators' ability to teach health education through life skills. The support provided by the governmental policies for related training can facilitate the effective implementation of health promotion programs in kindergartens. Preschool educators must also receive on-the-job training to facilitate the effective transaction of the health education curriculum. Health classes centered on life skills in kindergartens are vital and must be incorporated into the curricula.
While preschool educators are currently encouraged to educate young children in and for sustainable development, limited observational research has focused on documenting how sustainability notions ...are introduced or discussed in preschools. Drawing on a large database of videos of practice, this study describes typical features of conversations about sustainability in Singapore Kindergarten 1 classrooms (4–5 years). Four representative conversations (two planned, two incidental) are qualitatively analyzed to illustrate the strengths and weaknesses of preschool educators’ pedagogical moves. The analyses indicate that while educators build upon children’s experiences and provide real-life examples, their interactional styles tend to be direct, prescriptive, and somewhat rigid. The study, therefore, raises awareness among early childhood practitioners about the need for more dialogic forms of interaction. Children need increased opportunities to have a voice in conversations about sustainability issues. Facilitating deeper discussions will require preschool educators to position themselves as co-constructors of knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors for a more sustainable future, rather than as mere transmitters of information.
This case study investigates two Chinese children’s shared reading experiences in both home and preschool contexts. The parents and the educators were interviewed about their general attitudes and ...practices relating to shared reading for promoting the Chinese children’s bilingual development. Detailed observations were undertaken to record the parents and the educators’ interactions with the children during shared reading. The language use of the parents and the educators was analyzed with systemic functional linguistic theories. The findings demonstrate significant differences between the two cases, although the two children shared the same cultural and language learning background. The educators played a critical role in shaping the children’s shared reading experiences in the preschool and the nature of educator–parent cooperation. The mothers provided rich language learning opportunities for their children through active interactions in shared reading; however, the positive home learning experiences could not contribute to the children’s language learning in their preschools without effective educator–parent cooperation. This study suggests there are significant opportunities and strategies for the parents and the educators to capitalize on the educational functions of shared reading for facilitating Chinese children’s bilingual development based on mutual understanding and close cooperation.
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