Development as education for social justice

Asia Pacific Education Review - The correlation between education and development, with time, went through many changes along with the changes of perspectives. Since both of these concepts...     

Preschool Teachers’ Professional Background,Process Quality,and Job Attitudes: A Person-Centered Approach

Research Findings: This exploratory study identified preschool teacher quality profiles in early childhood education settings using 9 indicators across teachers’ professional background, observed process quality, and job attitudes toward teaching (e.g., job-related stress, satisfaction, and intention to leave the job). The sample consisted of 96 teachers from 48 child care programs in a midwestern U.S. state. A latent profile analysis revealed 3 profiles: (a) less experienced, lower quality, and more positive attitudes; (b) less experienced, average quality, and less positive attitudes; and (c) more experienced, better quality, and mixed attitudes. Multiple program- and teacher-level covariates were incorporated into the latent profile model to examine the associations between program and teacher characteristics and profile membership. Practice or Policy: Results of this study provide important information for use in early child care interventions and suggest a new approach toward more integrated professional development programs that cover both teachers’ practices and job attitudes. This study also suggests the need for new coaching systems that can be individualized based on each teacher’s strengths and challenges.     

Teachers’ Social–Emotional Capacity: Factors Associated With Teachers’ Responsiveness and Professional Commitment

Research Findings: Early care and education has pronounced implications for young children’s social-emotional learning. Although program structural and classroom process quality indicators have been widely explored, teachers’ personal social–emotional capacity has only recently been recognized as an indicator of quality. This study reviewed and identified indicators of teachers’ social-emotional capacity and established a two factor structure of psychological load and coping abilities. We also explored correlational associations between teachers’ social-emotional capacity and their professional commitment and responsiveness to children’s negative emotions. The sample consisted of 1,129 teachers in center-based child-care programs and public preschools in the US. We found that teachers’ psychological load (depression, stress and emotional exhaustion) was associated with teachers’ negative reactions to children and teachers’ professional commitment after controlling for a wide range of teacher/classroom characteristics. Conversely, teachers’ coping abilities (reappraisal emotion regulation and problem-focused coping strategies) were related to their positive reactions to children’s negative emotions. Practice or Policy: The findings suggest further studies to identify training and professional development program components that might address early childhood teachers’ psychological difficulties and coping strategies. Child-care programs may also need efforts that support teachers’ social–emotional capacity as a way to improve teachers’ responsiveness and professional commitment.