A Day in the Life of an Early Childhood Teacher: Identifying the Confronting Issues and Challenges That Arise

Ohi, Sarah

doi:10.4236/ce.2014.511115

Cited by 8 publications

(14 citation statements)

References 14 publications

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“…Grant, Danby, Thorpe and Theobald (2016) also note that, for example, assessment and documentation take time away from work with children. The findings, concerning the fragmentary nature of EC teachers, mirror those of many earlier studies (Karila & Kinos, 2012;Ohi, 2014;Woodrow, 2012). Karila and Kinos (2012) underline that the professionalism of EC teachers and their awareness of their own actions can decrease the risk of interruptive practices.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 79%

Researching Finnish Early Childhood Teachers’ Pedagogical Work Using Layder's Research Map

Ukkonen-Mikkola

Fonsén

2018

Australasian Journal of Early Childhood

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This study examines the experiences of early childhood teachers in their everyday pedagogical work. The data for this qualitative study consists of the diaries of early childhood teachers. Layder's (1993) research map has been used to structure the theoretical background and provide an analytical frame to categorise the data. The results show that early childhood teachers' work is complex and demanding, but they did encounter successes in their work. Certain common themes were identified on the levels of Layder's research map. These themes, which were experienced both as successes and challenges, included laws and steering documents, values and attitudes, pedagogical principles and solutions, leadership, collaborative structures, interaction, professional self-conception and skills. The challenges in the teachers' work were caused by differing professional values, a lack of discussion, and inoperative organisational structures and practices, among others.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 79%

Researching Finnish Early Childhood Teachers’ Pedagogical Work Using Layder's Research Map

Ukkonen-Mikkola

Fonsén

2018

Australasian Journal of Early Childhood

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“…Educational professionals have defined that support as the core and most important source of strain as well as a source of motivation and satisfaction (Ohi, 2014). …”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This sector has scarcely been considered in the stress or well-being literature ( Hall-Kenyon et al, 2014 ) that has mainly studied teachers in primary school, secondary school, and college settings ( Duncan, 1980 ; Byrne, 1991 ; Kelly and Berthelsen, 1995 ; Guidetti et al, 2015 ). Nonetheless, the early childhood education profession has specific features ( Ohi, 2014 ) due to the very young age of the children whom the teachers care for ( Converso et al, 2015b ; Viotti et al, 2015 ). In the Italian context, based on the children’s age, further specificities exist between pre-school teachers (of 3- to 6-year-old children) and educators (of 0- to 3-year-old babies and toddlers).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Users’ Support as a Social Resource in Educational Services: Construct Validity and Measurement Invariance of the User-Initiated Support Scale (UISS)

2016

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Social support is an important resource for reducing the risks of stress and burnout at work. It seems to be particularly helpful for educational and social professionals. The constant and intense relationships with users that characterize this kind of service can be very demanding, increasing stress and leading to burnout. While significant attention has been paid to supervisors and colleagues in the literature, users have rarely been considered as possible sources of social support. The only exception is the Zimmermann et al.'s (2011) research, focused on customer support as a resource for workers' well-being. This paper proposes the validation of the customer-initiated support scale developed by Zimmermann et al. (2011), translated into Italian and focused on educational services users (children's parents), to measure the user support perceived by workers: the User-Initiated Support Scale (UISS). In Study 1 (105 teachers), which specifically involved educators and kindergarten teachers, the items and scale properties were preliminarily examined using descriptive analyses and exploratory factor analysis (EFA). In Study 2 (304 teachers), the construct and criterion validity and scale dimensionality were analyzed using confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). In Study 3 (304 teachers from Study 2 and 296 educators), measurement invariance (MI) was tested. The EFA results from Study 1 showed a one-factor solution (explained variance, 67.2%). The scale showed good internal coherence (alpha = 0.88). The CFA in Study 2 validated the one-factor solution (comparative fit index = 0.987; standardized root mean square residual = 0.054). Bivariate correlations confirmed construct validity; the UISS was positively associated (convergent) with user gratitude, and not associated (divergent) with disproportionate customer expectations. Regarding the criterion validity test, the UISS was strongly correlated with burnout and job satisfaction. The analysis of MI performed on the Study 3 data confirmed the equality of the parameters of the covariance structure model between the two samples of kindergarten teachers and educators. This research study offers a useful version of a tool for measuring a crucial, but often ignored, protective resource for all professionals working directly with people (patients, students, and service users) that can represent important sources of well-being, directly or indirectly lessening the negative impacts of job demands.

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“…Prací, které by se tímto důležitým tématem zaobíraly, je ovšem poskrovnu. Učitelky mateřských škol čelí problémům s nedostatkem času, s nedostatkem zdrojů a problémům v komunikaci s rodiči (Ohi, 2014), popřípadě také s domácím zázemím dětí a jejich kázní.…”

Section: Teoretická Východiska a Přehled Dosavadních Zjištěníunclassified

Poslání a aktuální problémy předškolního vzdělávání – postoje a názory ředitelek mateřských škol

Simonová¹,

Potužníková²,

Straková³

2018

Orbis Scholae

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Abstrakt: Zavedení povinné předškolní docházky jako prostředku pro zlepšení školní připravenosti především znevýhodněných dětí vzbuzuje v České republice řadu kontroverzí. Relativně malá pozornost je věnována postojům a názorům aktérů této významné změny − pedagogickým pracovníkům mateřských škol. Cílem empirické studie je představit výsledky výzkumu zaměřeného na postoje a názory ředitelek mateřských škol na poslání a aktuální problémy před-školního vzdělávání. V dotazníkovém šetření odpovídaly ředitelky 383 mateřských škol vybraných náhodným dvoustupňovým stratifikovaným výběrem. Odpovědi na uzavřené otázky byly zpracovány deskriptivními statistickými metodami, otevřené otázky byly vyhodnoceny metodou kvalitativní obsahové analýzy. Téměř všechny ředitelky mateřských škol nepovažují přípravu na školní docházku za primární cíl předškolního vzdělávání, dvě třetiny ředitelek nepovažují za prioritu vyrovnávání rozdílů mezi dětmi s různým socioekonomickým zázemím. Největší problémy ředitelky mateřských škol spatřují v administrativní zátěži, nízkých kapacitách mateřských škol, financování a problémech s rodiči a dětmi. U dětí zaznamenaly významné změny v jejich připravenosti na pobyt v MŠ, chybějí-cích sociálních návycích a ve výskytu diagnostikovaných vad a poruch. Tyto výsledky jsou diskutovány vzhledem k zvažovaným a zaváděným opatřením vzdělávací politiky.Klíčová slova: předškolní vzdělávání, mateřská škola, cíle předškolního vzdělávání, školní připravenost, ředitelka mateřské školy, názor, postoj, vzdělávací politika Mission and Current Issues of Preschool Education − the Attitudes and Opinions of Nursery School PrincipalsAbstract: The introduction of compulsory pre-school attendance as a means to improve readiness for school, especially among disadvantaged children, has raised a series of controversies in the Czech Republic . Relatively little attention has been paid to the opinions and attitudes of an important group of actors in this important change − kindergarten teachers. The aim of this empirical study is to present the results of a research study focused on the views of kindergarten principals on the mission and current problems of preschool education . The principals of 383 kindergartens selected in two-stage stratified random sampling responded to a questionnaire. Their answers to closed-ended questions were analysed by descriptive statistical methods, while open-ended questions were analysed using qualitative content analysis . Almost all the kindergarten principals do not consider readiness for school to be the primary target of preschool education; two-thirds of them do not see reducing differences between children from different socioeconomic backgrounds as a priority . The biggest problems are seen as lying in the administrative burden, low capacities of kindergartens, funding, and problems with parents and children . The principals noticed significant changes in children's readiness for kindergarten, a lack of social skills, and the prevalence of diagnosed disorders . These results are discussed...

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A Day in the Life of an Early Childhood Teacher: Identifying the Confronting Issues and Challenges That Arise

Cited by 8 publications

References 14 publications

Researching Finnish Early Childhood Teachers’ Pedagogical Work Using Layder's Research Map

Researching Finnish Early Childhood Teachers’ Pedagogical Work Using Layder's Research Map

Users’ Support as a Social Resource in Educational Services: Construct Validity and Measurement Invariance of the User-Initiated Support Scale (UISS)

Poslání a aktuální problémy předškolního vzdělávání – postoje a názory ředitelek mateřských škol

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