Professional training and education of early childhood teachers #oppre‐school teachers = forskollarare#cp in Sweden

Background: Early childhood teachers consist of kindergarten and elementary school teachers in the lower grades. Young children at school may increase the vocal load of these teachers. Therefore, the objectives of this study were to determine the prevalence of voice disorders and the associated factors in early childhood teachers, and to determine if differences exist between kindergarten and elementary school teachers. Method: A cross-sectional survey was performed in July 2019 as a network questionnaire. Through cluster sampling, teachers (n = 414) from all five public kindergartens (n = 211) in the urban area of Yancheng, China, and four public elementary schools (n = 203) in the same school district participated in this study. Multivariate logistic regression models were used to analyze the associations among the prevalence of voice disorders in the teachers, school type, and relevant factors. Results: Our results indicated, based on the Voice Handicap Index scale (VHI-10, China), that the prevalence of voice disorders in early childhood teachers was 59.7%, while that in elementary school teachers (65.5%) was significantly higher than that in kindergarten teachers (54.0%) during the previous semester. Contributing factors included daily class hours, classroom air humidity, and speaking loudly during teaching. Additionally, certain types of voice usage in teaching such as falsetto speak, speaking more than other teachers, not using vocal techniques, and habitual voice clearing, were significantly associated with voice disorders. Conclusion: Most early childhood teachers have voice disorders. Compared with the kindergarten teachers, the elementary school teachers experienced a significantly higher prevalence of voice disorders. Several factors among work organization, work environment, and types of voice usage in teaching were associated with the voice disorders in early childhood teachers. The finding suggests that voice training should be provided for early childhood teachers, classroom teaching time should be decreased, and the number of teachers in basic subjects should be increased in the lower grades of elementary schools.

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Barriers to the Use of Games-Based Learning in Pre-School Settings

10.4018/978-1-6684-3710-0.ch079 ◽

2022 ◽

pp. 1639-1654

Author(s):

Dionysios Manesis

Keyword(s):

Early Childhood ◽

Early Childhood Teachers ◽

Digital Games ◽

Early Childhood Classroom ◽

School Teachers ◽

Public And Private ◽

Major Barrier ◽

Positive Attitudes ◽

Frequent Use ◽

Adoption And Implementation

The main aim of this research is to investigate how teachers perceive the barriers that limit the adoption and implementation of games-based learning in early childhood education on Cyprus. Teachers are working in public and private pre-schools. A 19-item questionnaire was administered to 148 early childhood teachers in Cyprus (78 public pre-school teachers and 70 private pre-school teachers). Factor analysis reveals three types of barriers to the use of games-based learning in early childhood classroom: lack of confidence, lack of support, and lack of equipment. The higher the teachers' self-efficacy in using digital games is, the lower the level of teachers' perception regarding the barrier lack of confidence becomes. Teachers with no frequent use of computer and digital games in the classroom perceive lack of confidence as a major barrier. Public pre-schools teachers have significantly more positive attitudes toward the usefulness of GBL than private pre-schools teachers.

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Barriers to the Use of Games-Based Learning in Pre-School Settings

International Journal of Game-Based Learning ◽

10.4018/ijgbl.2020070103 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 10 (3) ◽

pp. 47-61

Author(s):

Dionysios Manesis

Keyword(s):

Early Childhood ◽

Early Childhood Teachers ◽

Digital Games ◽

Early Childhood Classroom ◽

School Teachers ◽

Public And Private ◽

Major Barrier ◽

Positive Attitudes ◽

Frequent Use ◽

Adoption And Implementation

The main aim of this research is to investigate how teachers perceive the barriers that limit the adoption and implementation of games-based learning in early childhood education on Cyprus. Teachers are working in public and private pre-schools. A 19-item questionnaire was administered to 148 early childhood teachers in Cyprus (78 public pre-school teachers and 70 private pre-school teachers). Factor analysis reveals three types of barriers to the use of games-based learning in early childhood classroom: lack of confidence, lack of support, and lack of equipment. The higher the teachers' self-efficacy in using digital games is, the lower the level of teachers' perception regarding the barrier lack of confidence becomes. Teachers with no frequent use of computer and digital games in the classroom perceive lack of confidence as a major barrier. Public pre-schools teachers have significantly more positive attitudes toward the usefulness of GBL than private pre-schools teachers.

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Exploring Early Childhood Teachers’ Beliefs About STEAM Education in Saudi Arabia

Early Childhood Education Journal ◽

10.1007/s10643-021-01303-0 ◽

2022 ◽

Author(s):

Ahlam A. Alghamdi

Keyword(s):

Early Childhood ◽

Professional Training ◽

Early Childhood Teachers ◽

Integration Process ◽

Chi Square ◽

Childhood Education ◽

Steam Education ◽

Teachers Beliefs ◽

Chi Square Test ◽

And Training

AbstractThis study explores Saudi teachers’ beliefs about STEAM education in early childhood education settings. The study sample consisted of 245 teachers working in kindergartens. The participants completed a survey comprising twelve items to elaborate teachers’ beliefs toward implementing STEAM practices in their classrooms, as well as four close-ended questions to evaluate teachers’ knowledge of and familiarity with the terminology of STEAM education and their professional training in STEAM-related content. The findings reveal overall positive beliefs toward STEAM education for young children and rather moderate beliefs regarding the implementation of STEAM practices. The results also reveal that teachers were somewhat familiar with the term STEAM; however, they reported limited knowledge of the integration process and basic strategies and skills needed for its implementation. The results also demonstrate that the majority of the Saudi teachers participating in this study believed they needed additional professional development and training regarding STEAM implementation. A chi-square test indicated statistically significant associations between teachers’ knowledge of STEAM education and their beliefs and between teachers’ previous professional training in STEAM education and their beliefs. The implications and future recommendations are also discussed.

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