Peer-reviewed article
Early childhood education teachers’ professional development towards pedagogical leadership
Elina Fonsén, Tuulikki Ukkonen-Mikkola ·
Summary
Written by AI, not yet AICS's view · claude-haiku-4-5-20251001This study examined how 32 early childhood education teachers in Finland developed their pedagogical thinking through an 18-month professional development course. Researchers collected written responses from participating teachers and analyzed them to understand changes in their teaching practices and understanding. The study found that teachers developed increased knowledge, greater awareness of teaching quality, new skills, and improved ability to advocate for early childhood education.
Key points
- Professional development was identified across four dimensions: increased knowledge, awareness of quality of previously implemented pedagogy, developmental skills, and ability to advocate for ECE pedagogy
- The study used a participatory action research approach with 32 ECE teachers over 18 months
- Teachers' interpretations of pedagogical changes were explored through the lens of pedagogical leadership
- The research found connections between further training and professional development in pedagogical leadership
- A participatory action research approach to teacher training is highlighted as significant and needed
Limitations
The study relies on teachers' written self-interpretations of their own development, which may not capture actual changes in classroom practice or children's outcomes. The findings are specific to one Finnish context and may not generalize to other countries or education systems.
Abstract
Background: In recent years, early childhood education (ECE) has faced many reforms that have led to new requirements for pedagogy. Due to this evolution, there is, in turn, an increasing need to enhance the professional competence of ECE teachers through further training.Purpose: This article examines ECE teachers’ interpretations of the changes in their pedagogical thinking during a further training course for ECE teachers in Finland. The aim of this qualitative research was to investigate the professional development that can be related to the further training. The context of the study was an 18-month long ECE teachers’ further training course called ‘Pedagogy of Early Childhood Education during Changing Practices’.Sample: The study involved 32 ECE teachers participating in the further training course. The data consisted of the written responses of the further training participants in respect of their interpretation of pedagogy.Design and methods: The research was carried out using a participatory action approach. The written data were collected from the teacher participants. Thematic analysis was firstly conducted inductively from the data. In the second phase, content analysis was applied using abductive reasoning. The theory-based content analysis was conducted using pedagogical leadership aspects of the theory of human capital.Results: The features of professional development that were identified were explored through the lens of pedagogical leadership and grouped into four dimensions: increased knowledge, awareness of the quality of previously implemented pedagogy, developmental skills, and ability to make the case for ECE pedagogy.Conclusions: The research identified connections and relationships between the further training and professional development in pedagogical leadership. The significance of and demand for a participatory action research approach to further training for ECE teachers are discussed.
Findings the Hub has extracted
Each claim below is labelled by its type of design and links back to this report.
- Intervention
- 18-month further training course for ECE teachers called 'Pedagogy of Early Childhood Education during Changing Practices' using a participatory action research approach
- Population
- 32 early childhood education teachers in Finland
Key finding
Teachers developed increased knowledge in pedagogy