Abstract
This chapter offers a brief description of the field of educator professional development and presents research-based evidence regarding the effectiveness of current alternative approaches. It describes the method that the authors propose for the professional development of early childhood educators and focuses on the conclusions drawn from using quality observation rating scales as a basic means for professional training. It elaborates on how the training with these tools helped early childhood educators improve their daily practices and how it can be further utilized and discusses the basic strengths and weaknesses of this innovative approach. This chapter offers a detailed proposal for the extension of such an approach for the development of small local teacher networks through the use of these tools.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Abreu-Lima, I., & Nunes, C. (2006). A escala de avaliacao do ambiente em educacao de infancia–Versao revista [The early childhood environment rating scale–Revised edition]. In C. Machado, L. Almeida, M. A. Guisande, M. Goncalves, V. Ramalho (Eds.), Avaliacao Psicolσgica: Formas e Contextos (Vol. XI, pp. 634–643). Braga: Psiquilibrios Edicoes.
Andersson, M. (1999). The Early Childhood Environment Rating Scale (ECERS) as a tool in evaluating and improving quality in preschools (Doctoral dissertation). Stockholm: Stockholm Institute of Education Press (HLS).
Bandura, A. (1997). Self-efficacy: The exercise of control. New York: W. H. Freeman.
Blank, R. K., & de las Alas, N. (2009). Effects of teacher professional development on gains in student achievement: How meta-analysis provides scientific evidence useful to educational leaders. Washington, DC: Council of Chief State School Role of Professional Development Officers.
Blank, R. K., de las Alas, N., & Smith, C. (2008). Does teacher professional development have effects on teaching and learning? Evaluation findings from programs in 14 states. Washington, DC: Council of Chief State School Officers.
Borko, H. (2004). Professional development and teacher learning: Mapping the terrain. Educational Researcher, 33(8), 3–15.
Burke, P. J., & Kirton, A. (2006). The insider perspective: Teachers-as-researchers. Reflecting Education, 2, 1–4.
Dahlberg, G., Moss, P., & Pence, A. (2007). Beyond quality in early childhood education and care: Languages of evaluation (2nd ed.). New York: Routledge.
Darling-Hammond, L., & Snyder, J. (2000). Authentic assessment of teaching in context. Teacher and Teacher Education, 16, 523–545.
Desimone, L. M. (2009). Improving impact studies of teachers’ professional development: Toward better conceptualizations and measures. Educational Researcher, 38, 181–199.
Downer, J. T., Booren, L. M., Lima, O. K., Luckner, A. E., & Pianta, R. C. (2010). The individualized classroom assessment scoring system (inCLASS): Preliminary reliability and validity of a system for observing preschoolers’ competence in classroom interactions. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 25, 1–16.
Gevers Deynoot-Schaub, M. J. J. M., & Riksen-Walraven, J. M. A. (2005). Child care under pressure: The quality of Dutch centers in 1995 and in 2001. Journal of Genetic Psychology, 166, 280–296.
Gol-Guven, M. (2009). Evaluation of the quality of early childhood classrooms in Turkey. Early Child Development and Care, 179, 437–451.
Grammatikopoulos, V. (2012). Integrating program theory and systems based procedures in program evaluation: A dynamic approach to evaluate educational programs. Educational Research and Evaluation, 18, 53–64.
Grammatikopoulos, V., Gregoriadis, A., & Zachopoulou, E. (2013). Evaluating an early childhood educators’ training in six European countries. International Journal for Innovation and Quality in Learning, 1, 15–21.
Grammatikopoulos, V., Gregoriadis, A., & Zachopoulou, E. (2015). Evaluation of early childhood education environments and professional development: Current practices and implications. In O. N. Saracho (Ed.), Contemporary perspectives on research in assessment and evaluation in early childhood education (pp. 153–169). Charlotte: Information Age Publishing.
Greenleaf, C. L., Litman, C., Hanson, T. L., Rosen, R., Boscardin, C. K., Herman, J., et al. (2011). Integrating literacy and science in biology: Teaching and learning impacts of reading apprenticeship professional development. American Educational Research Journal, 48, 647–717.
Gregoriadis, A., Zachopoulou, E., Grammatikopoulos, V., Liukkonen, J., Leal, T., Gamelas, A. M., et al. (2014). Good practices in early childhood education: Looking at early educators’ perspectives in six European countries. Thessaloniki: Christodoulidi Publishers.
Grigg, J., Kelly, K. A., Gamoran, A., & Borman, G. D. (2013). Effects of two scientific inquiry professional development interventions on teaching practice. Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis, 35, 38–56.
Harms, T., & Clifford, R. M. (1986). Early childhood environment rating scale [Early childhood education quality rating scale] (C. Chan & R. Ho Trans.). Hong Kong: The Salvation Army Child Care Services.
Harms, T., & Clifford, R. M. (1993a). Early childhood environment rating scale [Escala de avaliação do ambiente em educação infantil] (I. M. Pinto & T. Leal Trans.). Porto: Universidade do Porto.
Harms, T., & Clifford, R. M. (1993b). Early childhood environment rating scale [Escala de Evaluacion del Entorno de Ninos Pequenos] (J. Palacios Trans.). Spain: University of Seville.
Harms, T., & Clifford, R. M. (1994a). Early childhood environment rating scale [Scala per l’osservazione e la valutazione della scuola dell’ infanzia] (M. Ferrari Trans.). Bergamo: Edizioni Junior.
Harms, T., & Clifford, R. M. (1994b). Early childhood environment rating scale [Utvärdering i förskolan: ECERS- metoden-kvalitetsbedömning av basfunktioner I förskolemiljö för barn 3–6 år] (M. Andersson & U. Löfgren Trans.). Sweden: Psykologiförlaget.
Harms, T., & Clifford, R. M. (1995). Early childhood environment rating scale. (E. J. Reiling, M. J. E. Verhoeven, & L. W. C. Tavecchio Trans.). Leiden: Afdeling Algemene en Gezinspedagogiek, Universiteit Leiden.
Harms, T., & Clifford, R. M. (1997). Early childhood environment rating scale [Kindergarten-Einschtz-Skala (KES)] (W. Tietze, K. M. Schuster, & H. G. Robach Trans.). Berlin: Luchterhand.
Harms, T., & Clifford, R. M. (1998a). Early childhood environment rating scale—Revised [Echelle d’ evaluation de l’environment prescolaire] (M. Baillargeon & H. Larouche Trans.). Quebec: Presses De L’ Universite Du Quebec.
Harms, T., & Clifford, R. M. (1998b). Early childhood environment rating scale—Revised [Hoiku Kankyo Hyoka Sukeru 1 Youji-ban] (R. Uzuhashi Trans.). Kyoto: Horitu-Bunka-sha.
Harms, T., & Clifford, R. M. (2000). Early childhood environment rating scale [ECERS Kvardhinn Til Adh Meta Leikskolastarf Fyrir Thriggja Til Sex Araborn] (G. Gudhmundsdottir & S. Hauksdottir Trans.). Iceland: Gudhmundsdottir and Hauksdottir.
Harms, T., & Clifford, R. M. (2002). Early childhood environment rating scale—Revised ECERS (R. J. Pettersen Trans.). Oslo: SEBU Forlag.
Harms, T., & Cryer, D. (1999). Video guide & training workbook for video observations for the early childhood environment rating scale. Williston, VT: Teachers College Press.
Harms, T., Clifford, R. M., & Cryer, D. (1998). Early childhood environment rating scale-Revised [A Kisgyermekkori Környezet Ostályozási Skálája-Átdolgozott kiadás] (M. Korintus Trans.). Budapest: Országos Caslád- és Gyermekvédelmi Intézet.
Harms, T., Clifford, R. M., & Cryer, D. (2002). Early childhood environment rating scale-revised [Escala De Calificación Del Ambiente De La Infancia Temprana - Edición Revisada] (C. Dueñas Trans.). Williston, VT: Teachers College Press.
Harms, T., Clifford, R. M., & Cryer, D. (2005b). Early childhood environment rating scale—Revised edition [Kindergarten-Skala, Revidierte Fassung (KES-R)] (W. Tietze, K. M. Schuster, K. Grenner, & H. G. Robach Trans.). Berlin: Beltz.
Harms, T., Clifford, R. M., & Cryer, D. (2013). Early childhood environment rating scale—Revised edition ECERS-R [Klimaka axiologisis tis poiotitas stin prosholiki ekpaideusi] [in Greek] (K. Botsoglou & D. Kakana Trans.). Thessaloniki: Kyriakidi.
Harms, T., Clifford, R. M., & Cryer, D. (2005a). Early childhood environment rating scale–Revised edition. Williston, VT: Teachers College Press.
Heller, J. I., Dahler, K. R., Wong, N., Shinohara, M., & Miratrix, L. W. (2012). Differential effects of three professional development models on teacher knowledge and student achievement in elementary science. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 49, 333–362.
Hu, B. Y., Zhou, Y., & Li, K. (2014). Pinpointing Chinese early childhood teachers’ professional development needs through self-evaluation and external observation of classroom quality. Journal of Early Childhood Teacher Education, 35, 54–78.
Kennedy, M. M. (2016). How does professional development improve teaching? Review of Educational Research, 86, 945–980.
Mathers, S., Linskey, F., Seddon, J., & Sylva, K. (2007). Using quality rating scales for professional development experiences from the UK. International Journal of Early Years Education, 15, 261–274.
Nevo, D. (2001). School evaluation: Internal or external. Studies in Educational Evaluation, 27, 95–106.
Pianta, R. C., Mashburn, A. J., Downer, J. T., Hamre, B. K., & Justice, L. (2008). Effects of web-mediated professional development resources on teacher–Child interactions in pre-kindergarten classrooms. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 23, 431–445.
Podgornik, V., & Mazgon, J. (2015). Self-evaluation as a factor of quality assurance in education. Review of European Studies, 7, 407–415.
Potter, G. (2001). Facilitating critical reflection on practice through collaborative research. The Australian Educational Researcher, 28, 117–139.
Rodgers, C. (2002). Seeing student learning: Teacher change and the role of reflection. Harvard Educational Review, 72, 230–253.
Ross, J. A., & Bruce, C. D. (2007). Teacher self-assessment: A mechanism for facilitating professional growth. Teaching and Teacher Education, 23, 146–159.
Sabol, T. J., & Pianta, R. C. (2014). Do standard measures of preschool quality used in statewide policy predict school readiness? Education Finance & Policy, 9, 116–164.
Sandholtz, J. H. (2002). In-service training or professional development: Contrasting opportunities in a school/university partnership. Teaching and Teacher Education, 18, 815–830.
Schildkamp, K., Visscher, A., & Luyten, H. (2009). The effects of the use of a school self-evaluation instrument. School Effectiveness and School Improvement, 20, 69–88.
Sher, L., & O’Reilly, F. E. (2009). Professional development for K-12 math and science teachers: What do we really know? Journal of Research on Educational Effectiveness, 2, 209–249.
Sheridan, S., Giota, J., Han, Y.-M., & Kwon, J.-Y. (2009). A cross-cultural study of preschool quality in South Korea and Sweden: ECERS evaluations. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 24(2), 142–156.
Siraj-Blatchford, I. (2002a). Final annual evaluation report of the Gamesley Early Excellence Centre. Unpublished report, Institute of Education, London.
Siraj-Blatchford, I. (2002b). Final annual evaluation report of the Thomas Coram Early Excellence Centre. Unpublished report, Institute of Education, London.
Sylva, K., Melhuish, E., Sammons, P., Siraj-Blatchford, I., & Taggart, B. (2004). The effective provision of pre-school education (EPPE) project: Findings from pre-school to the end of key stage 1. London: Institute of Education.
Williams, B., & Imam, I. (Eds.). (2007). Systems concepts in evaluation: An expert anthology. Point Reyes, CA: Edge Press.
Yoon, K. S., Duncan, T., Lee, S. W.-Y., Scarloss, B., & Spapley, K. L. (2007). Reviewing the evidence on how teacher professional development affects student achievement. Washington, DC: Institute for Education Sciences.
Zee, M., & Koomen, H. M. Y. (2016). Teacher self-efficacy and its effects on classroom processes, student academic adjustment, and teacher well-being: A synthesis of 40 years of research. Review of Educational Research, 86, 981–1015.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2018 The Author(s)
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Grammatikopoulos, V., Gregoriadis, A., Zachopoulou, E. (2018). Self-Evaluation as a Means to Improve Practice: An Alternative Approach for the Professional Development of Early Childhood Educators. In: Gregoriadis, A., Grammatikopoulos, V., Zachopoulou, E. (eds) Professional Development and Quality in Early Childhood Education. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-64212-3_10
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-64212-3_10
Published:
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-319-64211-6
Online ISBN: 978-3-319-64212-3
eBook Packages: EducationEducation (R0)