Malaysian Preschool Teachers Quality Teaching Vis-A-Vis Their Professional Development, Qualifications and Experience

Abstract

When gauging the effectiveness of children’s learning, the importance of quality of teaching cannot be emphasized enough. Studies have shown that the single most significant factor in determining the quality of education that a child receives lies in the quality of its teachers. This study seeks to examine the relationship between teaching quality vis-a-vis preschool teachers’ professional development or training, qualifications and teaching experience in the Malaysia context. A review of the quality of teaching of 477 Malaysian preschool teachers was conducted. The respondents participated in answering self-assessment questionnaires. Results of the study sample pointed towards a non-significant relationship perceived between the quality of teacher teaching and the three democratic variables i.e., experience, training and qualifications. It also brought into sharp relief the lack of perceptible difference between quality of teacher teaching and teachers’ academic qualifications, training and professional development. Interestingly, attributes of seniority and duration of teaching experience did not positively translate to good teaching quality. The implications of the study are that monitoring or evaluation of teachers by either the parties involved or external evaluation from other institutions should be seen as an on-going initiative, in addition to continuous teacher training programmes designed to enhance the development of teacher professionalism. Such proactive efforts will go a long way in facilitating the quality of teacher teaching and invariably the effectiveness of children's learning.