Every Moment Is a Teachable Moment: Preschool Teacher’s Epistemologies, Their Relation to Teaching Social-Emotional Competence

• In Event: Poster Session 17
  In Poster Session: Social Influences on Learning

Abstract

Some early childhood educators focus on school readiness while others nurture social emotional development. This is a mixed method study with Head Start teachers (N = 10) from five classrooms in the Mid-South. The study design incorporated three data sources (observation, role-play activity, and a worldview measure). Teachers were either epistemological relativists or ontological relativists, which suggests they use student-centered teaching practices and adhere to an incremental curriculum. All teachers saw social emotional development as a salient factor in classroom contexts especially in addressing students’ diverse needs. Results highlight how teachers’ worldviews and teachers’ views of social emotional development may influence teacher practices in early childhood programs.

Authors

• Grace Kibe, The University of Memphis

• Shannon Audley-Piotrowski, Smith College

• Denise Lynne Winsor, The University of Memphis

• Jessika Boles, The University of Memphis

• Sally Blake, The University of Texas - El Paso