A study of early childhood educators' experiences on one professional development programme

Abstract

This study explored the experiences of early childhood educators on a professional development programme. The literature on the professional development of teachers has suggested that effective professional development is difficult to achieve and that the area of professional development is highly complex. Research over the past twenty five years has suggested that the professional development of teachers is a process that occurs over time, rather than an event, and will be more successful if teachers are given opportunities to collaborate with other teachers, and to engage in action research and reflective practice. It has also suggested that the environments in which teachers work play a role in the success of their development. While the current literature provides some useful information about professional development of teachers, the degree to which it can be generalised to early childhood educators should be questioned. Most of the current literature is based on the experiences of primary and secondary teachers outside of the New Zealand setting. Yet the contexts in which early childhood educators work are different from both primary and secondary teachers. These include not only the different age ranges of children but also other factors such as the fact that early childhood educators work in teams rather than alone in a classroom. A study of the professional development of early childhood educators in New Zealand would be a timely and useful study for several reasons. These include the recent introduction of the National Curriculum Te Whaariki and early childhood educators' struggle for recognition as professionals. The research questions for this study were developed after considering the lack of literature which addressed early childhood educators' professional development specifically. The two questions which guided this research were: what were early childhood educators experiences in one professional development programme? And, what did these early childhood educators identify as being beneficial or a hindrance to change? The present study explored the experiences of ten early childhood educators who attended a professional development programme offered by the Department of Early Childhood Care and Education Studies at the University of Waikato. This particular programme was called the Targeted Incentre Programme. Participants attended three two-day modules which were one month apart. Each participant was interviewed about their experiences with professional development using a semi-structured interview format one year after their participation on the programme. These interviews were then analysed for themes which are presented in the findings chapter of this thesis. The findings of the present research suggest that early childhood educators experiences with professional development are influenced by three major areas: their personal and professional biographies, their centre environment, and the programme design. Within each of these areas factors which helped or hindered participants' development were also identified.