TY - JOUR
T1 - Impacts of the arizona system ready/child ready professional development project on preschool teachers' self-efficacy
AU - Ciyer, Aysegul
AU - Nagasawa, Mark
AU - Swadener, Elizabeth
AU - Patet, Pradnya
N1 - Funding Information:
The AzSRCR project’s overall purpose was to enhance the school readiness of preschool children living in underserved communities by improving the professional knowledge and skills of preschool practitioners. This was in keeping with the received wisdom of the field, which has long held that practitioners’ formal education is a key factor in program quality, and therefore, plays a critical role in preschool children’s learning and later school success. Given substantial documentation that many preschool teachers face barriers in this process, the project’s partners built a program model focused on supporting participants’ self-efficacy as a key process variable towards the short-term outcome of 2-year degree completion. Participants’ increased self-efficacy contributed to their motivation to learn, desire to become better teachers, and openness to experimenting with new classroom practices. In addition, it enhanced their sense of pride and professionalism in their work with young children. Nine AzSRCR participants completed associate degrees while participating in the project. These teachers were admitted into the initial teacher certification in Early Childhood Education at Arizona State University, and received scholarships funded by a federal Head Start grant focused on the professional development of Head Start teachers in programs serving Hispanic populations. At the time of this writing, seven of these teachers have received the BA degrees and two are completing their final student teaching in K–3 classrooms.
PY - 2010/4
Y1 - 2010/4
N2 - Funded through a No Child Left Behind of 2001 (NCLB) grant, this research examines the effects of the Arizona System Ready/Child Ready Early Childhood Professional Development Project (AzSRCR) on the self-efficacy of 256 educators who participated in AzSRCR over a 3-year period. The AzSRCR program was a federally funded, statewide higher education partnership that provided assistance for early childhood practitioners earning associate degrees in early childhood education. The program aimed to improve the professional knowledge and skills of preschool practitioners and ultimately enhance the preschool readiness of children living in low-income communities and underserved areas of the state. The data in this study were collected from AzSRCR program evaluations. Free-write and focus group data were analyzed to develop major themes common across the data set. The Lamorey Wilcox self-efficacy scale (2003) was also administered, the results of which were triangulated with the qualitative data from the program evaluations and other quantitative data. The results showed an increase in participants' sense of self-efficacy, including expressions of confidence in their own math and reading abilities over the course of the AzSRCR program.
AB - Funded through a No Child Left Behind of 2001 (NCLB) grant, this research examines the effects of the Arizona System Ready/Child Ready Early Childhood Professional Development Project (AzSRCR) on the self-efficacy of 256 educators who participated in AzSRCR over a 3-year period. The AzSRCR program was a federally funded, statewide higher education partnership that provided assistance for early childhood practitioners earning associate degrees in early childhood education. The program aimed to improve the professional knowledge and skills of preschool practitioners and ultimately enhance the preschool readiness of children living in low-income communities and underserved areas of the state. The data in this study were collected from AzSRCR program evaluations. Free-write and focus group data were analyzed to develop major themes common across the data set. The Lamorey Wilcox self-efficacy scale (2003) was also administered, the results of which were triangulated with the qualitative data from the program evaluations and other quantitative data. The results showed an increase in participants' sense of self-efficacy, including expressions of confidence in their own math and reading abilities over the course of the AzSRCR program.
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U2 - 10.1080/10901021003781197
DO - 10.1080/10901021003781197
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:77952498576
VL - 31
SP - 129
EP - 145
JO - Journal of Early Childhood Teacher Education
JF - Journal of Early Childhood Teacher Education
SN - 1090-1027
IS - 2
ER -