Date of Award
1992
Document Type
Practicum-NSU Access Only
Degree Name
Doctor of Education
Department
Child and Youth Studies
Advisor
Roberta Schomburg
Keywords
child caregivers, child development, inservice teacher education, learning centers, preschool teachers, staff development, teacher educator education, teacher supervision, teacher workshops, training
Abstract
This practicum aimed to enhance the preschool teachers' motivation, knowledge, and skills for implementing a learning center-based preschool program located in a shared space recreation center facility. Corollary goals were to increase parental approval of the preschool program, to increase preschool enrollment, and to increase each teacher's confidence in teaching in a learning center-based environment and in working as a member of a preschool team.
An ongoing staff development program comprised of four workshop sessions during the first month of implementation and one monthly workshop thereafter throughout the implementation was initiated. Workshop topics included developing the learning center environment; appropriate preschool practices; student and teacher learning styles: preschool curriculum; team teaching techniques; behavior management: creativity: child, parent, and supervisor relationships: and topics requested by the teaching staff. Data was collected in the form of writer assessment of the teaching staff collected three times during the implementation: teaching staff self-evaluation and questionnaire forms issued before and after implementation; and teaching staff identification of their problems in teaching. Parent questionnaires were issued and collected before and after implementation; Data was collected on the preschool enrollment changes every six weeks, and data was collected to compare the number of teacher turnovers during the implementation with the teaching turnover the year prior to Implementation.
The outcomes of the practicum were very positive. All eight objectives were reached. Teacher motivation, learning center knowledge and skills, teaching expertise, enrollment, and parental improvement grew. Teacher turnover declined.