Classroom management of early childhood educators in Chile

Abstract

Chile has been promoting higher-quality policies in early childhood Education for three decades. These policies’ sustainability demands -among other factors- strengthening classroom management processes in educational centers, given its impact on the quality of teaching. There are insufficient systematic antecedents available on this matter. In response to this situation, obstacles and demands – that early childhood educators consider significant in this area are investigated, in order to propose policies for their improvement. For this, a descriptive-qualitative study is developed, with semi-structured interviews with a sample of 40 educators with a relevant professional career in the classroom, who work in high vulnerability establishments (greater than 50%), in the Maule region (Chile). The analysis shows their classroom management practices, highlighting the importance of improving in this matter, strengthening achievements and training strategies. The main findings show that the learning of boys and girls is a key subject for classroom educators, as well as their willingness to learn new teaching methodologies and teamwork, forming part of the policy guidelines to enhance their performance.