Professionalism in elementary education - Academic and non-academic courses in comparison

Author(s):

Julia Bruns(presenting / submitting)Lars Eichen(presenting)Walter-Laager Catherine Pfiffner Manfred

Conference:

ECER 2013

Network:

10. Teacher Education Research

Format:

Poster

Session Information

10 SES 05.5 PS, General Poster Session

General Poster Session

Time:

2013-09-11

12:30-14:00

Room:

FUAYE

Chair:

Contribution

Experts agree that the elementary education sector, and therefore pre-school practitioners can and must be professionalized (Balluseck 2008a; Thole 2008; Speth 2010). Debates often focus on the education of these practitioners. The results of International research prove that pre-schools who have staff with higher qualifications are of higher quality (Sylva et al. 2003). As a consequence a multitude of degree programmes in the field of early education were established in Switzerland. Nevertheless traditional child care courses (Fachfrau/Fachmann Betreuung, Fachrichtung Kind (FaBe K)) still exist alongside these degree programmes.

Research questions

With this in mind it does beg the question of whether and to what extent the professional skills differ between students undertaking different training. Are there differences which can only be explained by the kind of training the students have? Is it possible to cancel out these differences by employing the same training content and methods? What do students benefit more from- academic education or practical experiences?

Objectives

The study

a) will review academic results in the area of educational diagnostics whilst using the same training content and methods and varying the form of training (vocational learners, master students and HF-students);

b) collects data on important independent variables;

c) examines if video samples help to increase the inter-rater reliability concerning the assessment of steps of development in early childhood.

Theoretical framework

The concept of professionalization relates to real or theoretically codable competencies of teachers (vgl. Thole, 2008, S. 275). A key competence for child care practitioners is diagnostic expertise. More important competencies can be found in the overview «Frühpädagogik studieren – ein Orientierungsrahmen für Hochschulen» (Robert Bosch, 2008). This study focuses on diagnostic expertise which is (in early childhood settings in Switzerland) fulfilled by observing the children and documenting their stage of development.

The obligation to observe and document the steps of development of every child is part of nearly every formal curriculum in Germany and Switzerland. The observation and documentation of learning processes in the early stage of development includes evaluating the learning process, as well planning and teaching in challenging learning environments. (Wustmann Seiler & Simoni, 2012, S. 50).

Research has shown: The accuracy of assessment of the stages of development in early childhood depends on the amount of time a pre-school practitioner spends observing a child. Furthermore a pre-school practitioner needs to have a child-centered, positive and respectful attitude. In short: disinterest or an ambivalent attitude towards the children brings forth incorrect assessments. (Walter-Laager & Pfiffner, 2009, S. 237).

Method

The sample consists of 80 students attending three different types of training course as pre-school practitioners in Switzerland. Nearly half of the students attend training courses in order to become “Fachbetreuerin Kind”. This type of training focuses on practical experiences. One-fifth of the sample attends a degree programme at University. Their training includes extensive theoretical knowledge, but little practical training. The rest attend a “Höhere Fachschule” which combines theoretical and practical elements. The study uses a pre-test/ post-test design. The pre-test data (collected from a questionnaire) in-cludes students’ knowledge relating to early childhood development. Data on accuracy of assess-ment of the stages of development in early childhood was then collected via video vignettes. Eight video vignettes containing images for example of a child jumping on the spot were presented. The students were asked to assess the skills of the child concerning this step of development using a five stage likert scale. In the post-test we repeated this procedure with different video vignettes. Between the times of measurement every group was given video samples which explained how to assess these steps of development as well as an assessment tool for early childhood development. The students were asked to use both regularly.

Expected Outcomes

The presented study examines the differences between three kinds of training as a pre-school practitioner. The study focuses on the accuracy of assessments of the stages of development in early childhood, the inter-rater reliability of pre-school practitioners and their knowledge of early childhood development. The kinds of training differ in their level of theoretical input and their amount of practical training. Therefore differences in levels of accuracy of assessments as well as in theoretical knowledge are to expect. Furthermore it is to be expected that students who have both consolidated theoretical knowledge and practical experience give more precise assessments than students without practical experience or profound theoretical knowledge. Additionally we expect an increase in inter-rater reliability among all students concerning the as-sessment of the stages of development in early childhood between the two times of measurement. Furthermore it could be suggested that students with little practical knowledge benefit the most from the given support between the two times of measurement.

References

Balluseck Hilde von (Hrsg.) (2008a). Professionalisierung der Frühpädagogik. Perspektiven, Entwicklungen, Herausforderungen. Opladen: Barbara Budrich. Dippelhofer-Stiem Barbara (2006). Berufliche Sozialisation von Erzieherinnen. In: Lilian Fried & Susanna Roux (Hrsg.) (2006): Pädagogik der frühen Kindheit. Handbuch und Nachschlagewerk. Weinheim, Basel: Beltz (S. 358–367). Fröhlich-Gildhoff Klaus (2008). Wirkt was? – Was wirkt? Gegenstandsangemessene Wirkungsforschung in der Frühpädagogik. In: Hilde von Balluseck (Hrsg.), Professionalisierung der Frühpädagogik. Opladen: Barbara Budrich, S. 279-290. Maag Merki Katharina & Werner Silke (2011). Erfassung und Bewertung professionel¬ler Kompetenz von Lehrpersonen. In: Ewald Terhart, Hedda Bennewitz & Martin Rothland (Hrsg.). Handbuch der Forschung zum Lehrerberuf. Münster: Waxmann (S. 571-591). Meyer Hilbert & Walter Catherine (2012). Leitfaden für Lehrende in der Elementarpädagogik. Berlin: Cornelsen. Pfiffner Manfred & Walter-Laager Catherine (2009). Soziale Beziehungen und Effekte im Unterricht. Empirische Studie: Einflüsse der sozialen Beziehungen im Unterricht auf Motivation, Fähigkeitsselbstkonzept und Leistung bei Kindern und Jugendlichen. Saarbrücken: Südwestdeutscher Verlag für Hochschulschriften. Robert Bosch Stiftung (2008). Frühpädagogik studieren – ein Orientierungsrahmen für Hochschulen. Stuttgart. Speth Christine (2010). Akademisierung der Erzieherinnenausbildung? Beziehung zur Wissenschaft. Wiesbaden: VS Verlag für Sozialwissenschaften. Sylva Kathy, Melhuish Edward, Sammons Pam, Siraj-Blatchford Iram, Taggart Brenda, Elliott Karen (2003). The Effective Provision of Pre-School Education (EPPE) project: Findings from the pre-school period. Unter: http://www.ioe.ac.uk/schools/ecpe/eppe/eppe/eppepdfs/RB%20summary%20findings%20from%20Preschool.pdf, Zugriff: 30.01.2013. Thole Werner (2008). ‚Professionalisierung’ der Pädagogik der Kindheit. In: Werner Thole, Hans-Günther Roßbach u.a. (Hrsg.): Bildung und Kindheit. Pädagogik der Frühen Kindheit in Wissenschaft und Lehre. Opladen: Barbara Budrich (S. 271-294). Walter-Laager Catherine & Pfiffner Manfred (2011). Beobachten, beurteilen und fördern in der Schule. Carl von Ossietzky Universität Oldenburg. Eingereichte Partnerhabilitationsschrift. Wustmann Seiler Corina & Simoni Heidi (2012). Orientierungsrahmen für frühkindliche Bildung, Betreuung und Erziehung in der Schweiz. Erarbeitet vom Marie Meierhofer Institut für das Kind, erstellt im Auftrag der Schweizerischen UNESCO-Kommission und des Netzwerks Kinderbetreuung Schweiz. Zürich

Author Information

Julia Bruns (presenting / submitting)

Zentrum für Frühkindliche Bildung, Universität Fribourg (ZeFF)

Departement for Education

Fribourg

Lars Eichen (presenting)

Zentrum für Fühkindliche Bildung, Universität Fribourg (ZeFF), Switzerland

Oldenburg

Walter-Laager Catherine

Zentrum für Frühkindliche Bildung, Universität Fribourg (ZeFF), Switzerland

Pfiffner Manfred