Kindergarten Teachers' Beliefs and Practices.

Keywords

*Beliefs; *Check Lists; Classroom Observation Techniques; Classroom Research; Classroom Techniques; *Educational Practices; Factor Structure; *Kindergarten; Measures (Individuals); *Preschool Teachers; Primary Education; Questionnaires; Teacher Attitudes; Test Construction; Test Reliability

Abstract

The major objectives of this study were to: (1) develop a questionnaire based on the National Association for the Education of Young Children's 1986 guidelines for developmentally appropriate practice in early childhood education; and (2) use the questionnaire to obtain information regarding kindergarten teachers' beliefs and instructional activities. The measure developed was a 27-item Checklist for Rating Developmentally Appropriate Practice in Kindergarten Classrooms. The measure, composed of two scales, the Teachers' Beliefs Scale and the Instructional Activities Scale, was administered to 113 kindergarten teachers from 4 Southern states. Findings suggested that psychometric properties of the measure were encouraging; they revealed positive correlations betwc n developmentally appropriate beliefs and activities and between developmentally inappropriate beliefs and activities. Factors of both scales were fairly strong and independent. Teachers characterized as more developmentally appropriate felt themselves to be more in control than did tea:hers characterized as less developmentally appropriate. It is concluded that the teacher questionnaire shows promise of being a useful instrument for the study of teachers' perceptions of their beliefs and practices. Results support the contention that a great deal of inappropriate practice occurs in kindergarten classrooms.

Original Publication Citation

Charlesworth, R.N., Hart, C.H., Burts, D.C., & *Hernandez, S. (1991). Kindergarten teachers' beliefs and practices. Early Child Development and Care.

Document Type

Peer-Reviewed Article

Publication Date

1990-04-16

Permanent URL

http://hdl.lib.byu.edu/1877/5449

Publisher

American Educational Research Association

Language

English

College

Family, Home, and Social Sciences

Department

Family Life

University Standing at Time of Publication

Full Professor

Link to Full Text

Share

COinS