Influences on Early Childhood Teachers’ Choices to Participate in Equity-Oriented Professional Learning

• In Event: Shaping the Future of Early Childhood Education: Teacher Perceptions, Professional Learning, and Equity-Driven Development

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to understand what influenced five early childhood teachers’ choices to participate in equity-oriented professional learning during the rapidly changing time between 2020-2023. Guided by social ecological systems theory, semi-structured interviews were used to investigate the influences on teachers' choices. The findings demonstrate that teachers were influenced by varying interconnected factors across individual, micro-, meso-, exo-, and macrosystems that either fostered or limited their sense of choice. The start of the pandemic was found to serve as either a catalyst for learning due to the problematization of microsystem practices/perspectives or an opportunity to act upon problems already recognized in practice. Implications for teachers, schools, districts, and professional learning designers are discussed.

Author

• Anna Oliveri, Salve Regina University