Effect of Professional Development in Science for Early Childhood Education and Care Staff
试验速览
- 阶段
- 不适用
- 状态
- 尚未招募
- 发起方
- 入组人数
- 1,400
- 试验地点
- 2
- 主要终点
- Change in Self-efficacy for science approach at 4.5 months
研究概览
简要总结
This trial is a randomized controlled trial aimed at assessing the effectiveness of a nine-month-long professional development program to improve early childhood educators' and carers' self-efficacy for science approaches, engagement with science, and attitudes toward science in early childhood education and care (ECEC).
详细描述
Early childhood education and care (ECEC) staff often struggle in working with science with small children, as the National Strengthened Pedagogical Curriculum (Ministry of Children and Education, 2020) is difficult to put into practice. Thus, they are challenged with regard to meeting the national objectives for this in this regard. A large-scale professional development program is developed and implemented to overcome this gap and to enhance ECEC staff's self-efficacy, engagement with, and attitudes toward science.
The intervention is developed by UCL teaching staff in collaboration with the municipality of Odense with the aim of offering all children in Odense municipality's ECEC program a playful and investigative approach to science as defined in the national curriculum theme 'Nature, outdoor life and natural phenomena' by offering ECEC staff extensive professional development in this field. The professional development course will be delivered by UCL teaching staff from the area of early childhood education and care in two consecutive runs, each of nine months duration.
The professional development consists of a combination of three workshops and three e-learning modules. In between workshops and e-learning modules, the ECEC staff implement the content practically by working with science with the children, while receiving supervision from a teacher from the professional development. The set-up is based on the model of teacher professional growth (Clark & Hollingsworth, 2002). The aim of the professional development program is that ECEC staff becomes able to construct and enhance science-oriented learning environments, thus providing the children with educative experiences with science (Dewey, 1913). The aim of the trial is to assess the effectiveness of the intervention to improve early childhood educators' and carers' self-efficacy for science approaches, engagement with science, and attitudes toward science in early childhood education.
The study is a Randomized Controlled Trial (RCT). A total of approximately 1400 ECEC staff will be randomized to the professional development in the first run or Education and Care as Usual (ECAU). The ECAU group in the first run will receive the intervention in a second run once the first run is completed.
Participants are ECEC staff in pedagogical positions (i.e. pedagogues, assistants, assistant teachers, and daily leaders) employed in a combined nursery and kindergarten in Odense municipality. Participants must be able to fill out questionnaires in Danish.
研究设计
- 研究类型
- Interventional
- 分配方式
- Randomized
- 干预模型
- Sequential
- 主要目的
- Other
- 盲法
- None
入排标准
- 年龄范围
- 18 Years 至 70 Years（Adult, Older Adult）
- 性别
- All
- 接受健康志愿者
- 否
入选标准
- •Adults employed in a day nursery and/or kindergarten center in the municipality of Odense at the start of the intervention
- •Employed in one of four pedagogical positions: pedagogues [pædagoger], assistants [pædagogiske assistenter], assistant teachers [pædagogmedhjælpere], and daily leaders [dalig leder]
排除标准
- •Employed in other positions than the four above in a day nursery and/or kindergarten center
- •"at home child carers" [dagpleje]
- •Not able to fill out questionnaires in Danish
结局指标
主要结局
Change in Self-efficacy for science approach at 4.5 months
时间窗: Baseline, 4,5 months
Self-Efficacy for Science Approach (SESA) in early childhood educators and carers. The scale will be developed for purpose with a basis in the National Strengthened Pedagogical Curriculum prior to baseline. Rasch measurement models will be used for validation, including analyses of differential item functioning to ensure that the two groups of staff in the RCT can be compared unbiased. The resulting scale will consist of approximately 15 items (score range 0-60) and have sufficient reliability. Higher scores are better.
Change in Self-efficacy for science approach at 9 months
时间窗: Baseline, 9 months
Self-Efficacy for Science Approach (SESA) in early childhood educators and carers. The scale will be developed for purpose with a basis in the National Strengthened Pedagogical Curriculum prior to baseline. Rasch measurement models will be used for validation, including analyses of differential item functioning to ensure that the two groups of staff in the RCT can be compared unbiased. The resulting scale will consist of approximately 15 items (score range 0-60) and have sufficient reliability. Higher scores are better.
次要结局
- Science capital for professionals(Baseline)
- Change in Attitudes toward science at 4.5 months(Baseline, 4,5 months)
- Change in Attitudes toward science at 9 months(Baseline, 9 months)
- Change in engagement with science in the work life at 4.5 months(Baseline, 4,5 months, 9 months)
- Change in engagement with science in the work life at 9 months(Baseline, 9 months)
- Motivation for professional development in science(Baseline)
- science approach behaviors(9 months)
研究者
Tine Nielsen
Associate Professor
UCL University College, Denmark