Teacher Practices in Preschool Classrooms: Promoting Engaged Learners

Early childhood educators often describe classroom quality in terms that indicate we can "recognize it when we see it", but we have struggled to provide measures that capture some of the more subjective components of quality. A multi-level qualitative study was designed as an attempt to better understand and operationalize specific teacher practices occurring in high quality preschool classrooms. Focus group discussions with experienced classroom assessors were conducted to better understand specific attributes present in classrooms where children are engaged in the learning process and participate in classroom activities. Identified themes and constructs from the focus groups were supported by current literature and guided development of a preliminary tool used in classroom observations. Observations were used to support use of some items on the tool, provide needed revisions to language, and to identify additional important contributors to children's engagement. Findings from the classroom observations indicated a low occurrence of many items on the tool, as well as the continued need to provide measurement strategies and tools that capture important contextual factors and unique characteristics existing in classrooms