ED471903 PS030922
Title: Education Matters in the Nurturing of the Beliefs of
Preschool Caregivers and Teachers.
Author(s): McMullen, Mary Benson; Alat, Kazim
Source: Early Childhood Research & Practice, v4 n2 Fall 2002
Pages: 17
Publication Date: 2002
Notes: In: Early Childhood Research & Practice: An Internet Journal
on the Development, Care, and Education of Young Children, Fall
2002; see PS 030 921.
Available from: EDRS Price MF01/PC01 Plus Postage.
Availability: For full text: http://ecrp.uiuc.edu/v4n2/
mcmullen.html.
Language: English
Document Type: Journal articles (080); Reports--Research (143)
Geographic Source: U.S.; Indiana
Journal Announcement: RIEAUG2003
This study examined the relationship between educational background
and the philosophical orientation of early childhood educators who
worked as caregivers and teachers of preschoolers, ages 3 to 6 years,
in one midwestern state (Indiana) in the United States. Specifically,
the highest level of education attained by the early childhood
professionals and their educational background (whether specific to
working with young children or not) were compared to their self-reported beliefs about best practice with young children, using
developmentally appropriate practices (DAP) as the philosophy for
comparison. A comparison of factor analyses from this study and from
studies conducted by Charlesworth and colleagues in 1991 and 1993
indicate clear similarities. A significant, positive correlation was
found between level of education and scores for self-reported DAP
beliefs. Results from 2 x 3 ANOVAs of the three factors that emerged
from these data indicate that professionals with a bachelor's degree
or higher more strongly adopted DAP as a philosophy overall than
colleagues with less education, whereas coursework specific to working
with young children was found to be significant only in the case of
beliefs related to child-initiated learning. Thus, in general,
participants with 4 years of college or more, even if in an unrelated
field, held stronger DAP beliefs than those with less education, even
if that education was directly related to working with young children.
The article suggests that more research needs to be done to examine
whether a 4-year degree may be most desirable in terms of ensuring
better-qualified preschool teachers. The article also discusses the
implications of this finding for policy and advocacy in the field of
early childhood education. (Contains 44 references.) (Author/HTH)
Descriptors: Bachelors Degrees; *Beliefs; Caregiver Attitudes;
*Child Caregivers; *Developmentally Appropriate Practices;
*Educational Attainment; Outcomes of Education; *Preschool Teachers;
Teacher Attitudes
