Conceptualizing Well-Being in the Implementation of Universal Pre-Kindergarten: An Examination of Teachers' Perspectives

• In Event: Child Well-Being and Social Progress: Moving Beyond Health, Safety, and Standards

Abstract

This paper foregrounds the perspectives of teachers working within Universal PreKindergarten (UPK) programs to examine the factors that can benefit or be detrimental to children’s well-being as hegemonic and regulatory practices in the name of accountability gain influence over early childhood experiences.

This study shares findings from work carried out with 27 women, all of whom participated in an accelerated teacher-training program specific to the UPK expansion in NYC. Data was collected to examine these teachers’ perspectives on their own learning, children and early childhood pedagogy (Portnoy & author, 2015). Teachers responded to a series of open-ended prompts to further our understanding about their experiences teaching and learning. In one such prompt, teachers were asked to respond to the question: “How has your thinking about how children develop changed since you’ve entered the classroom this fall?” Social capital frameworks are used to analyze conceptions. and manifestations of well-being

The responses from teachers about their teaching and learning juxtapose the realities of classroom life and the pedagogical skills and knowledge promoted in the graduate program. For example, in the following comment a teacher reflects upon the ways in which coursework (particularly on human development) has (re)shaped her beliefs about working with children.

I spend around 7 hours a day with 17 4 year olds. I knew what to expect, but I didn't know how quickly each child would grow and develop physically, emotionally and some cognitively. I read about all the areas of growth, check points and stages of growth, but seeing it first hand on such an intimate level really deepens the understanding of children. This has changed my lesson plans, daily schedule and even my own personal growth.

In contrast, another teacher shared the following reflection:
I used to think that teaching in early childhood was all about the children but now it feels like an illusion. There are so many policies to follow that at the end of the day it feels like we're not really looking at the children.

Increasingly early childhood professionals are confronted with the hegemonies of regulatory and standards-oriented practices when they enter their classrooms. For example, the Department of Education in New York City specifies that its Universal PreKindergarten (UPK) programs adopt one of three “authentic assessment” tools including, Teaching Strategies Gold, the Work Sampling System®, or the High Scope Observation Record/Child Observation Record Advantage®. Additional metrics are used in the centers to evaluate the quality of a teachers’ classrooms. The Environmental Rating Scale (ECERS) and Classroom Assessment Scoring System (CLASS) are predominantly used as quality measurement tools. A concern that is raised is that when education reform places such an emphasis on standards-based or criterion-based assessment, children are reduced to rating scales, numbers and statistics, and tangible products that serve as evidence of their learning. The extent to which younger people are social agents, active participants, or co-constructors of their educational experiences in schools is lessening as pressure builds to bring adequate return on the investment in UPK programming.

Author

• Lacey Elizabeth Peters, Hunter College - CUNY