Professionalisation of educators in early childhood education—About the collaboration of knowledge, attitudes and performance

Abstract

Based on a randomized intervention study in day care centers, the article examines whether a change towards a multilingual learning environment can be achieved through in-house professional training. A professionalisation model is tested using structural equation modelling. The collaboration of knowledge, attitude and performance is analyzed with that model. The data set of the study consists of a sample of n = 199 teachers from 19 kindergarten of 54 groups in total. Data was gathered in 2015 and 2018. The results show heterogenous outcomes of the intervention concerning attitude. They also depict stable outcomes concerning the knowledge of teacher. With respect to the performance of teachers, a development in favor of the intervention group can be detected in various aspects. A change from practical methods towards a multilingual learning environment seems to be a prolonged process. According to the results of the structural equation model, the process appears to be influenced by the attitudes of the teachers, but it is not connected to the knowledge improvement of the teachers.