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ERIC Number: ED455935
Record Type: Non-Journal
Publication Date: 1999-May
Pages: 3
Abstractor: N/A
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: N/A
A Survey: Quality Practices. NCEDL Spotlights, No. 10.
National Center for Early Development & Learning, Chapel Hill, NC.
This report summarizes findings from a national survey of 1,902 teachers of preschoolers regarding the extent to which they are able to engage in the educational practices they endorse. Teachers were given a list of 21 practices and asked to rate the extent to which each practice happened in their classroom and the extent to which they would want the practice to occur in a "perfect world." Findings indicate few discrepancies between reported practices and beliefs. There were significant differences in the extent to which teachers from various types of programs endorsed group-centered beliefs, that is, those that encourage all children to engage in the same activities at the same time and at the same pace. Teachers in public schools, Head Start centers, and other non-profit centers endorsed group-centered beliefs significantly less than teachers in religiously affiliated or for-profit settings. Teachers with more education endorsed group-centered beliefs less than those with less education. Teachers uniformly agreed that reading, math, science, and music activities should take place daily. All barriers to endorsed practices were given relatively low ratings. The report concludes that early childhood teachers largely see themselves as engaging in the practices that they endorse and that attention should be paid to changing teachers' knowledge and values to achieve child-centered practices. (KB)
Frank Porter Graham Child Development Center, University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, CB #8185, Chapel Hill, NC 27599-8185. Tel: 919-966-0867; Web site: http://www.ncedl.org.
Publication Type: Reports - Research
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: Office of Educational Research and Improvement (ED), Washington, DC.
Authoring Institution: National Center for Early Development & Learning, Chapel Hill, NC.
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A