IGH UALITY

ARLY HILDHOOD
LASSROOM
THE PERCEPTION OF THE
TEACHER

Amy J. Hinnant
University of St. Thomas
May 1, 2014
DO THE PERCEPTIONS AND
BELIEFS OF THE TEACHER
AFFECT THE QUALITY OF
AN EARLY CHILDHOOD
CLASSROOM?
WHAT IS QUALITY IN AN EC CLASSROOM?
Interactions with
children.
Collaboration with
families.
Relationships.


Classroom materials.
Curriculum.
Teacher education.
Teacher-child ratio.






(Vandell and Wolfe, 2000)

Process Structural
WHAT AN EC CLASSROOM IS NOT
(Bruno, 2008)
THE LITERATURE
McMullen and Alat (2002)
151 participants from a variety of
EC settings.
Asked highest level of education.
Used TBS scale to measure the
developmentally appropriate
practices (DAP).
Correlation analysis revealed a
significant correlation between the
level of education and the adoption
of DAP philosophies.
Stipek and Byler (1997)
60 classrooms in Pre K, K , 1
st
.
Three part questionnaire
concerning their own beliefs.
Used Likert scale for first two parts
and open-ended questions for third
part.
Results showed EC teachers either
believe in a more child-centered
approach or a skills based
approach.
Educational Background Teacher Beliefs
SURVEY RESEARCH DESIGN

43 Question Pre Survey
Training with ECERS
43 Question Post Survey
PARTICIPANTS
Five full time classrooms with a lead teacher and an
assistant teacher to equal 10 teachers.

Educational background varied from bachelors
degree to CDA.

Experience ranged from 34 years to first year
teacher.

Age of children in classrooms ranged from three
year olds to five year olds.


AREAS OF ECERS
Interactions
Space &
Furnishings
Personal Care
Routines

Activities
Program
Structure
Language &
Reasoning
Parents &
Staff

SURVEY RESULTS OF EC TEACHER PERCEPTIONS REGARDING CLASSROOM QUALITY
Pre Survey Post Survey
Areas of ECERS M SD M SD
Space & Furnishings 4.58 0.97 4.85 1.00
Personal Care Routines 5.90 0.56 6.06 0.53
Language & Reasoning 6.20 0.65 6.15 0.64
Activities 5.44 0.63 5.43 0.47
Interactions 5.92 0.61 6.22 0.59
Program Structure 5.73 0.75 5.80 0.56
Parents & Staff 5.27 0.97 5.36 0.73
Likert Scale: 1= Inadequate 3=Minimal 5=Good 7=Excellent
DISCUSSION
Strengths
Use of
ECERS.

Quality of
participants.
Limitations
Small
sample
size.

Training
restraints.
RECOMMENDATIONS AND RESULTS
Statistically not significant.

Increase in critical Interactions area.

Further training with ECERS.

Starting point to gain greater awareness.

REFERENCES
Bruno, H. E. (2008 ). What you need to lead an early childhood program: Emotional intelligence in practice.
Washington, DC: National Association for the Education of Young Children.

McMullen, M. B., & Alat, K. (2002). Education matters in the nurturing of the beliefs of preschool caregivers and
teachers. Early Childhood Research & Practice, 4(2) .

Stipek , D. J. & Byler, P. 1. (1997). Early childhood education teachers: Do they practice what they preach? Early
Childhood Research Quarterly, 12(3), 305-325.

Vandell, D. L., & Wolfe, B. (2000). Child care quality: Does it matter and does it need to be improved? Madison, WI:
University of Wisconsin-Madison.