Influence of course content on preschool teacher candidates’ classroom management strategies, professional beliefs and emotion regulation skills

Abstract

It is strongly needed to enhance teacher training programs via extensive course content more specifically to improve classroom management skills of teacher candidates. In the current study, we aimed to evaluate effectiveness of an elective course grounded on various strategies and vital aspects of preventive interventions about classroom management competencies, professional beliefs, and emotion regulation skills of preschool teacher candidates. The research is a quasi-experimental field study with pretest–posttest, intervention-comparison groups design including combination of qualitative and quantitative datasets. The participant group consisted of 76 females and 4 males registered in a 4-year university degree preschool teacher training program. The intervention group received training including key aspects of social and emotional intervention programs widely used in preschool settings while the comparison group received training covering inclusive education principles and relevant practices. Findings showed a significant increase in proactive approaches and positive behavioral support rates in the intervention group, while the frequency of reactive approaches was lower than the comparison group. Contrary to expectations, we could not find any influence of the content on emotion regulation skills and teaching beliefs of the intervention group. Results show clear influence of elective course content on improved skills of preschool teacher candidates about classroom management approaches.