PRESCHOOL TEACHERS’ BELIEFS ABOUT CLASSROOM PRACTICES AND HOW PRESCHOOL STUDENTS LEARN by REBECCA ROSE LUTONSKY MARY ELIZABETH CURTNER-SMITH, DEPARTMENT CHAIR CARROLL TINGLE ASGHAR IRAN-NEJAD A THESIS Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in the Department of Human Development & Family Studies in the Graduate School of The University of Alabama TUSCALOOSA, ALABAMA 2013 Copyright Rebecca Rose Lutonsky 2013 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED ABSTRACT The researcher in this study investigated how preschool teachers’ beliefs about teaching practice, children, and discipline and behavior management related to the preschool teachers’ level of education, type of teaching certification, years of teaching experience, and race. The method consisted of each preschool teacher completing the Teacher Belief Q-Sort (TBQ), either in an online format, or by using a paper and pencil form of the measure. The TBQ was chosen to reduce preschool teacher bias by having teachers rank order their priorities concerning their teaching practices. The data were the teachers’ rank-ordered responses to the TBQ measure. The data were analyzed using Chronbach alpha statistical analysis techniques. The results indicated low internal consistency among the various types of teacher beliefs. The researcher concluded social desirability may be one reason internal consistency was low. Additionally, regional cultural differences in how preschool teachers approach behavior management could be a factor. It is possible the preschool teachers in this study held some more “progressive, enlightened” beliefs about the practice of teaching and how to treat children regarding discipline and behavior management. However, these preschool teachers may also have held traditional beliefs, which resulted in wide variability to item answers on a scale measuring these types of beliefs. Furthermore, preschool teachers may have answered some items honestly and other items in a way which makes them look favorably to funding or licensing agencies. The researcher further concluded that besides the existing data on the TBQ, additional research with the TBQ is needed to establish the measure’s internal consistency, reliability, and validity. ii DEDICATION I would like to dedicate this manuscript to my faith, family, and friends, which were a support to me during the writing of this thesis. I would like to thank God for creating me and Jesus for saving me and giving me the courage, wisdom, and strength to complete this work. I would like to thank my mother, Kathryn Lutonsky, father, Roy Wesley Lutonsky, and brother, Kirk Morris Lutonsky, who inspired me to do well, reach for excellence, and never give up. To my many friends who encouraged me, cheered me on, and were examples to me to always reach for the highest levels of academic endeavor, I dedicate this thesis to you as well. As always, to the Alabama Crimson Tide, who will always be champions in my heart and spirit, this thesis was written because of your bold courage, dauntless devotion, and gallant desire to be the best that you absolutely can be, you are my eternal inspiration. Roll Tide! iii LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS AND SYMBOLS n Number of people in a sample a Cronbach’s index of internal consistency B Standardized regression coefficient F Fischer’s F ratio: A ratio of two variances M Mean: the sum of a set of measurements divided by the number of measurements in the set p Probability associated with the occurrence under the null hypothesis of a value as extreme as or more extreme than the observed value r Pearson product-moment correlation R2 Coefficient of determination: Index indicating the proportion of variance in the dependent variable that can be predicted from the set of independent variables SD Standard deviation < Less than = Equal to iv ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I would like to acknowledge my outstanding thesis committee, Dr. Mary Elizabeth Curtner-Smith, Dr. Carroll Tingle, and Dr. Ali Iran-Nejad. Their guidance, support, and unparalleled excellence in academia have been a source of distinguished inspiration and paramount expertise as they assisted me in completing this endeavor. I want to specifically thank Dr. Mary Elizabeth Curtner-Smtih for her absolute dedication to assuring that I meet the highest levels of scholarship for academic research, data analysis, and scholarly writing. Her knowledge of statistical analysis helped me to successfully add this body of work to the existing literature on the subject of preschool teachers’ practices. Her suggestions to me on how to correctly and assiduously write and record my findings confirmed that my contribution would be recorded with the highest standards in mind. In essence, the value of the assistance that Dr. Curtner-Smith has given me cannot be measured. I also want to thank Dr. Carroll Tingle, whose advice about writing, literature review research, and the most up-to-date methods in research and methodology have tremendously assisted me in presenting my topic of preschool teachers’ practices to the academy in the best possible fashion. She always goes beyond what is expected to help her students reach the highest attainable results in scholarship. For her dedication to outstanding and meritorious distinction in academia, I want to thank Dr. Carroll Tingle. To Dr. Ali Iran-Nejad, whose years of dedication, inspiration, and instruction have helped me to be a student that truly thinks and searches for understanding in a continual manner regarding my academic pursuits, I truly thank him. His knowledge of statistical analysis assisted me a great deal in presenting my findings in an effective manner. His dedication to leading me in the right v direction scholastically will always be appreciated! Thanks to such a well-established team of professors, professionals, and researchers, who without their assistance, this thesis would not have been written. vi CONTENTS ABSTRACT ................................................................................................................... ii DEDICATION .............................................................................................................. iii LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS AND SYMBOLS .......................................................... iv ACKNOWLEDGMENTS .............................................................................................. v LIST OF TABLES ..................................................................................................... viii INTRODUCTION .......................................................................................................... 1 PURPOSE OF THE STUDY ........................................................................................ 12 METHODS ................................................................................................................... 13 RESULTS AND DISCUSSION ................................................................................... 19 REFERENCES ............................................................................................................. 28 APPENDIX A: FACTORS ASSOCIATED WITH THE STUDY .............................. 31 APPENDIX B: CARDS RELATED TO FACTORS OF THE STUDY ...................... 32 APPENDIX C: IRB APPROVAL LETTER ................................................................ 33 vii LIST OF TABLES 1. Internal Consistencies ....................................................................................... 19 2. Demographics ................................................................................................... 21 3. Descriptive Statistics of Preschool Teachers’ Beliefs ...................................... 23 4. Correlations between Teacher Education, Years of Experience and Race, and Teacher Beliefs about Self Regulations, Process of Learning, Social Experience, Understanding Student Needs, Teacher Direction, and Negative Views of the Child ...................................................................... 25 viii INTRODUCTION Preschool teachers’ beliefs about children and their beliefs about teaching practices should be at the center of efforts to identify best practices and improve education (LaParo, Siepaka, & Scott-Little, 2006; Lara-Cinisomo, Fuligni, Ritchie, Howes, & Karoly, 2008; Massetti & Bracken, 2010; Rimm-Kaufman & Sawyer, 2004; Scott-Little, Brown, Hooks, & Marshall, 2008). This is because preschool teachers’ beliefs strongly influence the decisions these teachers make with children in the classroom. Thus, information about preschool teachers’ beliefs has implications for implementing teaching practices and classroom management behaviors to promote student success (Backen & Fischel, 2006; Charlsworth, 2008; Hamre & Pianta, 2001; LaParo, Siepaka, & Scott-Little, 2006; Massetti & Bracken, 2010; Polat, Kaya, & Akdag, 2013; Rimm-Kaufman & Sawyer, 2004). Previous studies concerning preschool and early childhood education teachers’ beliefs are as follows. In a study by LaParo, Siepaka, and Scott-Little (2006), 63 pre-service and 9 teacher- mentors in a birth through kindergarten teacher preparation program completed the Teacher Belief Q-Sort (TBQ). The authors compared the preschool pre-service teachers’ beliefs about discipline and behavior management, teaching practices, and beliefs about children before and after the teacher preparation program. The results the researchers found indicated no significant change in pre-service preschool teachers’ beliefs before and after the program. However, the pre-service teachers did have views on discipline, behavior management, and teaching practice, 1