Malaysian Preschool Teachers Quality Teaching Vis-A-Vis Their Professional Development, Qualifications and Experience
Nurul Aliah Mustafa1*, Nor Hashimah Hashim2
1 School of Education, Humanities & Social Sciences, Wawasan Open University (WOU), Georgetown, Malaysia
2 School of Education & Human Sciences, Albukhary International University (AIU), Alor Setar, Malaysia
*Corresponding Author: nurulaliahm@wou.edu.my Accepted: 15 March 2022 | Published: 1 April 2022
DOI:https://doi.org/10.55057/ijares.2022.4.1.14
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Abstract: When gauging the effectiveness of children’s learning, the importance of quality of teaching cannot be emphasized enough. Studies have shown that the single most significant factor in determining the quality of education that a child receives lies in the quality of its teachers. This study seeks to examine the relationship between teaching quality vis-a-vis preschool teachers’ professional development or training, qualifications and teaching experience in the Malaysia context. A review of the quality of teaching of 477 Malaysian preschool teachers was conducted. The respondents participated in answering self-assessment questionnaires. Results of the study sample pointed towards a non-significant relationship perceived between the quality of teacher teaching and the three democratic variables i.e., experience, training and qualifications. It also brought into sharp relief the lack of perceptible difference between quality of teacher teaching and teachers’ academic qualifications, training and professional development. Interestingly, attributes of seniority and duration of teaching experience did not positively translate to good teaching quality. The implications of the study are that monitoring or evaluation of teachers by either the parties involved or external evaluation from other institutions should be seen as an on-going initiative, in addition to continuous teacher training programmes designed to enhance the development of teacher professionalism. Such proactive efforts will go a long way in facilitating the quality of teacher teaching and invariably the effectiveness of children's learning.
Keywords: Professional development, teacher training, teacher qualification, teaching experience, teaching quality.
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1. Introduction
In recent years, teacher quality has been at the forefront of scholarly and policy debates on education. It is commonly acknowledged that teachers, even within the same institution, exact a wide range of effects on students’ learning. There is still, however, a lot of disagreement concerning the best way to assess teacher effectiveness and its correlations.
Extensive research is urgently needed in areas that evaluate relative contributions of professional and personal characteristics of staff, content of training, coaching/consulting practices, roles and relationships, systemic and contextual variables, and the interaction effects among them (Schoenwald, Sheidow, & Letourneau, 2004), to name a few. The study done by Benegusenga, Ntawiha1, & Nzabalirwa (2017) highlighted a solid, moderate, and low positive
association between teacher’s professional training, teaching experience, refresher courses, academic qualification and teaching techniques used. That is to say, qualifications for teachers and teaching methods are like two sides of the same coin. The qualification of teachers highly correlate with the way he/she manages his/her class, the teaching techniques he/she uses in general on his/her teaching practices. According to the findings of the study, teachers' knowledge grew as a result of their experience, and they used a variety of teaching strategies to help the children understand what they were learning (Masnan et al, 2019). In light of this, despite the steady rise in number of teacher-effectiveness studies carried out, plenty more still need to be researched and learnt.
Many factors impinge on teacher quality: one being the inherent quality of training received by the teachers. Training programmes can improve and impact on teachers' ability and capacity to meet children's demands. For instance, latest changes in education can be applied in the classroom through its content pedagogy, curriculum and education management. But if this change is not appropriately implemented, it may result in poor teaching. Therefore, for effective changes to take place, we require teachers who are both competent and skilful. As such, the affected parties must strategize and put together high-quality teacher training programmes so that the educational goals can be realized. Summarily, teacher training is a systematically planned activity by an organization to provide opportunities for teachers to acquire knowledge of skills and competencies in order to meet the demands of the present and the future. These programmes should be carried out continuously rather than serving as a stop- gap or knee-jerk response to perceived errors or flaws on a particular issue of concern.
According to Sergiovanni and Starrant (1979), teacher training is something that teachers themselves do for themselves, focusing on their growth and their need to be more advanced in tasks. As for Partington and Brown (1997) they believed that teacher training is an effort to support individual groups and organizations to understand building and improving work approaches. In a nutshell, teacher training is a dynamic process that is constantly in a state of flux. Consequently, the focus of this study is to take it a step further in addressing issues quality of teacher teaching in preschools and its relationship with teacher’s experience, training and qualifications.
2. Literature Review
In Malaysia, teacher training programmes are offered by various higher education institutions, including Universiti Malaya, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Universiti Pendidikan Sultan Idris and the Open University of Malaysia. At the foundation level, certificate programme is also available for in-service preschool teachers, administrators as well as parents and other parties who are interested to know more about early childhood education. In addition, universities also offer post-graduate diploma and a four-year integrated bachelor’s degree course on early childhood education. To cater for the increasing demand for trained preschool teachers, Teacher Education Institutes also play a significant role in offering diploma programmes and post graduate diplomas to develop the much-needed human resource in the area (Abdullah & Abdullah, 2018). Similarly, universities are also offering post-graduate credentials in early childhood teaching as well as a four-year integrated bachelor's degree programme. A number of private colleges have also joined in the fray of offering a variety of high demand teacher-training courses, such as SEGI College and Kirkby International College (Abdullah & Abdullah, 2018).
Teachers are required to remain in contact with professional development or training opportunities for various purposes, such as to renew their teaching certification and
promotional purposes (Kirkpatrick et al., 2019). Enrolling in college classes to pursue a higher degree, participating in informal learning opportunities (e.g., lesson studies, collaborating with colleagues, studying research), or attending professional development seminars/workshops to gain continuing education credits are all examples of these possibilities (Richter et al., 2011).
Early et. al., (2007) reviewed several studies and found that teachers' education levels or quality differences in nurturing had a marked impact on children. Much of the analyses performed by Early et. al., (2007) reflected a minimal to almost inconsequential relationship between educational background and the quality of a teacher. Conversely, Lobman et. al., (2004) asserted that teachers with bachelor's degrees and specialized training in preschool education were deemed as a far more important and preferable prerequisites towards helping children receive high quality preschool education.
Another important factor in determining the quality of teacher teaching is teacher’s experience in terms of their duration or years of teaching. Usually, the long-serving teacher is typically a senior educator who is skilled and competent as well as knowledgeable with a great potential for promotion on the job and upward mobility in her career. Whitebook and Sakai (2004) explained that this upgrading of posts is seen as a positive aspect that reflected the teacher's promotion or self-desire.
Problem Statement
In the quest to develop quality teachers, serious attention must be paid to providing proper training, qualifications, and experiences. On the one hand, there is a paucity of research studies related to investigating the impact of these variables on the teaching and learning outcomes among young children. Yet on the other, there are also numerous evidences from past studies attesting that teacher qualifications, experiences and duration of teacher education do make a difference in children's achievement (Darling-Hammond, 2000; Darling Hammond and Youngs, 2002). However, there is a point of contention here in that proof of eligibility may discourage those who are more qualified to become teachers (DOE, 2002). Nonetheless, recent evidence suggests that children's achievements can be attributed to teacher qualifications (Darling-Hammond, 2000:16) comprising i) teacher certification; ii) teacher education, including general academic ability, knowledge of the contents of subjects, and knowledge of teaching and learning as evidenced in educational courses, and iii) teacher experience.
Montie, Xiang and Schweinhart (2006) study revealed that firstly, teachers with longer teaching experiences helped advance the language skills of 7-year-old children and secondly, the types of activities suggested by the teacher were independently chosen by the child over the teacher's own choice. Hence, this study lends support for the need of experienced preschool teachers since early years children will stand to reap valuable benefits from experienced teachers.
Conor, Son, Hindman and Morrison (2005) researched on the impact of resources in influencing children's learning. They studied three markers of teacher quality, namely the lower educational qualifications; period of education and the period of experience. Their classroom observations were made across 3 dimensions; viz. friendliness or responsive control or discipline; and the time used in academic activities in relation to vocabulary; and pre-reading skills of children. One of the findings demonstrated children who had teachers who were more friendly and responsive and with long periods of time in academic activities exhibited better vocabulary and decoding skills at the end of the first year. This implied that teachers who have a longer education were better able to engage responsively with children, though they may fall
short of building robust decoding skills among children when compared to teachers who have shorter educational periods. The studies discussed above serve to emphasize on the prominent roles played by characteristics of teachers, qualifications and experience, and training in ensuring the quality of preschool teachers. As stated earlier, few research studies have been conducted to examine the influence of these variables on the teaching and outcomes of children's learning. Hence, this study attempts to bridge the gap and examine the relationship between the quality of teacher teaching and its three variables, namely training, experience and teacher qualifications. The implications of the study will highlight the importance of teachers' professional development manifested in courses or trainings, thus reflecting a more permanent and coherent vision for the development of more meaningful and appropriate teaching processes in the mission to expedite children's achievement across the board.
3 Methodology
The data concerning preschool teachers’ professional development or training with regard to their qualifications and teaching experience were identified through a survey using self-report questionnaire. The independent variables are the training aspects of teacher experience and qualifications, whilst the dependent variable is the quality of teaching. A questionnaire was designed to identify all independent and dependent variables. Data from various sources were collected for triangulation purposes to further verify and strengthen the validity of the study. A purposive sampling technique was employed throughout the data gathering process. The quantitative research design was used in the form of a questionnaire answered by 477 respondents.
4. Findings
Findings on the relationship between teacher training and the level of teaching quality of preschool teachers showed that the majority of preschool teachers (51.7 percent) who received training from USM had a high level of teaching quality compared to teachers who received other training or no training at all. However, the Kendall's correlation analysis indicated that there was no significant relationship between training and the level of teaching quality of preschool teachers. Therefore, the hypothesis that says that there is no significant relationship between training and the level of teaching quality of teachers and preschool teachers is rejected as it is non-applicable.
Regarding the relationship between teaching experience and the level of teaching quality of preschool teachers, the findings showed that as many as 30.6 percent teachers with an aggregated teaching experience of between 11 to 15 years, have a high level of teaching quality compared to teachers with less or more experience. However, Spearman's correlation analysis proved that there was no significant relationship between teaching experience and the level of teaching quality of preschool teachers. As such, the hypothesis that says that there is no significant relationship between teaching experience and the level of teaching quality of preschool teachers is failed to be rejected.
Findings in the relationship between qualifications and the level of teaching quality of preschool teachers reaffirmed that the majority of preschool teachers with SPM or Form 5 qualification or equivalent, have a higher level of teaching quality compared to teachers with other qualifications. However, Spearman's correlation analysis indicated otherwise as there was no significant relationship between the qualifications and the level of teaching quality of preschool teachers.
By implication, developing a system of professional training, as well as tangible initiatives that contribute to the enhancement of mandatory professional growth, is critical.
5. Discussion
Most kindergarten teachers in this study were found to have extended years of teaching experience. Qualification-wise, the majority of them only made it to the SPM level, with many having undergone training at the certificate level. The training, experience, and qualifications of kindergarten teachers are equivalent overall. This is in contrast to the categories preferred by McMullen & Alat (2002) in terms of diversity of training, qualifications and experience.
Bowman, et.al. (2001) and Lazar et.al. (1982) stated the training of preschool teachers has been at the Master’s degree level for the past two decades. Only a handful of kindergarten teachers possess a Bachelor's degree. Seemingly, lack of training, experience, and qualifications may affect the teaching quality of preschool teachers.
It is a truism that high quality teachers are able to implement teaching and learning activities systematically and can achieve learning outcomes. This notion is further vouchsafed by Bush (2004) who stated that preschool teachers need to be trained to provide appropriate instruction for individual children. A balance between activities of individuals, small groups and large groups needs to be created in terms of cognitive, spiritual, socioemotional, creativity, physical and language development (Bush, 2004).
In terms of teaching implementation, this refers to a repertoire of teaching and learning activities that are executed in the classroom, made up of a selection of varied teaching methods and strategies. It also entails careful consideration of developmentally appropriate learning activities in the entire learning process, particularly so at the induction set stage where teachers plan to attract and arouse the interest of different children. Besides, these activities are to be implemented within the time frame set. Against such a backdrop, only a pedagogically skilled and competent teacher will be able to pull together the essential teaching-learning steps and classroom activities in a harmonious and efficient manner. And these crucial skills can only be honed and improved through continuous training opportunities, especially through workshops and sharing sessions offered by experts in the field of preschool education (Janice, 2004). The findings of the study indicated that high quality teachers exhibit characteristics of communication, content knowledge, self-confidence, creativity, effort, concern and good self- appearance, and a most compatible and good fit in the context of preschool teaching. Morrison (2004) reiterated the point that the professional development of a quality teacher encompasses several dimensions such as personality, education, and teacher professionalism. In the dimension of teacher education and professionalism, the emphasis is on continuous training.
This is because teachers who attend continuous training are always alert, sensitive and responsive to current developments in the field of early childhood education. These teachers are also acutely aware that since learning is a lifelong process, they will need to augment their knowledge base and acquire value added skills through active participation on various programmes and continuous training activities.
6. Conclusion
The quality of instructional support provided by the teacher in a classroom is very important.
For this reason, preschool teachers must be aware that their professional development, experience and qualification do play a critical role. The above findings provide a view that all training decisions for preschool teachers should accord more attention to the quantity and
quality of training. Existing in-house and short-term training projects can be further enhanced if it is developed and upgraded into training at the Bachelor's degree level. As far as quality of training is concerned, preschool teachers are in dire need of greater exposure and a more hands- on, practical-oriented approach integrated into their curriculum. It is imperative that that their teaching prowess and capabilities be assessed during teaching practice so that the criteria of teaching and learning quality can be readily understood and applied during the training itself and not during later classroom teaching. In addition, a more robust and continuous programme by the parties involved will be the key catalyst in creating and consolidating a generation of highly skilled and efficient preschool teachers, be it in terms of mastery of educational knowledge or aspects of teaching and learning. Ultimately, the top-notch quality of preschool education teachers is the hallmark of a successful establishment of a conducive and effective learning environment.
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