Date of Conferral
2023
Degree
Ph.D.
School
Education
Advisor
Celeste Fenton
Abstract
AbstractEarly childhood teachers are an essential part of the education system in the United States, and professional development is a key means of ensuring that they have the required skills and education to meet the developmental needs of their young students. Although researchers have examined the professional development of kindergarten to Grade 12 teachers, they have not adequately explored early childhood practitioners' perspectives of professional development activities that support implementation of best practices. The purpose of this basic qualitative study was to explore early childhood educators' perspectives of professional development activities, using Knowles’s adult learning theory(andragogy) as the theoretical framework. Ten early childhood educators who worked in privately owned childcare facilities participated in semistructured interviews. The data were manually analyzed, and NVivo qualitative software was utilized to organize and categorize the data and to identify the emerging themes. The key findings were that (a) participants viewed professional development as beneficial to their work, (b) they required administrative support to participate in professional development activities, (c) they wanted to learn new things in order to be better at their jobs, and (d) their work experience influenced their interest in learning. The study findings may contribute to positive social change by providing knowledge that decision-makers can use to design, plan, and implement professional development activities for early childhood educators. Additionally, access to professional development might help teachers to provide instruction that benefits students and improves learning outcomes.
Recommended Citation
Ross, Gordia A., "Early Childhood Teachers’ Perspectives on Professional Development Activities" (2023). Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies. 14904.
https://scholarworks.waldenu.edu/dissertations/14904
