Date of Conferral

2023

Degree

Doctor of Education (Ed.D.)

School

Human Services

Advisor

Earl Thomas

Abstract

AbstractEarly childhood educators have struggled to teach children with challenging behaviors, which can lead to suspension and expulsion. Although early childhood educators have limited professional development training in challenging behaviors, they are often not equipped to teach children with challenging behaviors. There is little research on how early childhood educators perceive their current training regarding teaching children with challenging behaviors. Exploring early childhood educators’ perceptions can determine what they need to teach children with challenging behaviors for a thriving classroom environment. The purpose of this basic qualitative study was to better understand educators’ perceptions regarding the type of professional development training content needed for early childhood educators who teach children with challenging behaviors. Knowles’s andragogical process model guided the study and the research question, which asked early childhood educators how they perceived their current professional development training content needs in terms of teaching children with challenging behaviors. This basic qualitative study engaged eight early childhood educators who taught in a classroom were selected as participants. Individualized semi structured interviews were conducted to gather thorough responses to answer the research question. Coding and thematic analysis resulted in three main themes: content needs, challenges, and support. Overall, the participants expressed the need for professional development training with content focused on positive behavior intervention support and social-emotional development. Based on the findings, a 3-day professional development in-service was created. The outcome of this study can potentially promote social change for educators by improving positive school-wide culture and reducing challenging behaviors.

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