A DESCRIPTION OF THE PREPARATION, EXPERIENCE AND EDUCATIONAL ORIENTATION OF TEACHERS IN PREKINDERGARTEN PROGRAMS IN NEBRASKA

HARRIET ANN EGERTSON, University of Nebraska - Lincoln

Abstract

Purpose of the Study. The purpose of the study was to ascertain and describe the nature of the preparation, experience and educational orientation of preschool and day care teachers in Nebraska and to determine correlations among the variables studied. The general hypothesis was that any differences in preparation and experience of the teachers would result in different views about their role and function. Procedures Used in the Study. Two instruments, the "Preschool Teacher Preparation and Experience Questionnaire" and the "Teacher Attitude Q Sort" were sent to a stratified random sample of preschool and day care teachers in Nebraska. Of the eighty-seven respondents, forty-nine were preschool teachers and thirty-eight were day care teachers. Two sets of hypotheses were tested. The first set compared the two groups of teachers on the descriptive variables of age, parental status, type of experience, years of experience, level of education, type of education, certification, and inservice participation. Teachers were assigned to one of five role model categories (Maternal, Therapeutic, Instructional, Integrative, and Eclectic) on the basis of their results on the "Teacher Attitude Q Sort". The second set of hypotheses explored relationships between high "Teacher Attitude Q Sort" factors, role model categories and the descriptive training and experience variables. Findings. (1) More day care teachers than preschool teachers were in the 20-25 age category. (2) More preschool teachers than day care teachers were parents. (3) The type of experience was related to age. Younger teachers were more likely to have had only prekindergarten experience. (4) More day care teachers than preschool teachers have completed an Associate of Arts degree program. (5) More day care teachers than preschool teachers hold Nebraska Teaching Certificates endorsed in Early Childhood Education and more preschool teachers than day care teachers are endorsed in Elementary Education. (6) Day care teachers have attended more clock hours of inservice within the past five years than have preschool teachers. (7) Day care teachers have more extensive personal professional libraries than preschool teachers. (8) The "Teacher Attitude Q Sort" did not reveal differences between the preschool and the day care teachers with regard to their educational orientation. (9) The role models of the preschool teachers were not different from the day care teachers. (10) Very few teachers from either group were identified with either the maternal or the Instructional role models. (11) The factor rankings on the "Teacher Attitude Q Sort" were not related to the descriptive variables for either teacher group. (12) An increase in the level of inservice participation was related to role model categories. Conclusions. Preschool and day care teachers differed significantly from one another on all of the descriptive variables tested. The differences within and between groups lead to the conclusion that persons functioning as teachers of prekindergarten children in Nebraska come from a variety of experiential and educational backgrounds. The two groups of teachers exhibit a variety of educational orientations and role model preferences but these characteristics do not appear to be affected by their experiential or educational background.

Subject Area

Early childhood education

Recommended Citation

EGERTSON, HARRIET ANN, "A DESCRIPTION OF THE PREPARATION, EXPERIENCE AND EDUCATIONAL ORIENTATION OF TEACHERS IN PREKINDERGARTEN PROGRAMS IN NEBRASKA" (1980). ETD collection for University of Nebraska-Lincoln. AAI8021344.
https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/dissertations/AAI8021344

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