The Practitioner's Voice in Early Childhood Reform: The Power of Teacher Narrative to Illuminate Change

• In Event: 51.078 - MTCC Roundtable Session 21
  In Roundtable Session: 51.078-11 - Early Childhood Workforce Voices

Abstract

Based on a larger examination of early learning professional development in the state of Florida, this qualitative study utilized interviews and focus groups to examine the perceptions of early learning teachers during a multi-year, statewide quality improvement initiative where teachers engaged in continuous professional development. Results indicate that teacher narratives provided additional evidence to support quantitative results, and explained the lived experiences of teachers in accountability-based learning through providing deep description and concrete examples of teacher and children learning. Additionally, qualitative findings from this research provided previously unknown benefits of this statewide learning initiative, and suggest implications for future implementation in order to create stronger professional development for early learning teachers.

Authors

• Mary Kathleen Rodgers, University of Florida

• Natalie Hagler, University of Florida

• Stephanie Schroeder, The Pennsylvania State University

• Tara Mathien, University of Florida