Abstract
Principals play a leading role in kindergarten quality improvement, and thus their needs for professional development (PD) should be understood and met. This national study adopted a mixed-methods approach to survey 3,065 kindergarten principals in China and interviewed 16 of them. First, the latent profile analysis of survey data yielded three profiles of PD needs: (1) low (7.5%), (2) medium (22.2%), and (3) high profiles (70.3%), indicating 70.3% of Chinese principals need PD badly. The high-profile group features ‘inexperienced principals working at newly established private kindergartens’, the most disadvantaged among the three groups. Second, ANOVA tests revealed significant rural–urban and public-private differences in Chinese principals’ professional backgrounds and PD needs. In particular, significant public-private and rural–urban differences were observed in the principals’ ‘current degree’ (Fs > 63, ps < 0.001) and ‘desired degree’ (Fs > 39, ps < 0.001). The rural principals aspired more than their urban counterparts to obtain ‘a higher degree” or ‘a certificate’ (ps < 0.05). Third, the follow-up interviews confirmed remarkable rural–urban and public-private gaps in PD needs, indicating a noticeable ‘Matthew effect’: the poor got less, whereas the rich got more. The implications for future PD policy and program development are discussed.
Original language | English |
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Article number | 1118787 |
Pages (from-to) | 1-13 |
Number of pages | 13 |
Journal | Frontiers in Psychology |
Volume | 14 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 7 Jun 2023 |
Externally published | Yes |
Bibliographical note
Copyright the Author(s) 2023. Version archived for private and non-commercial use with the permission of the author/s and according to publisher conditions. For further rights please contact the publisher.Keywords
- early childhood education
- kindergarten principals
- Matthew effect
- principal training
- professional development needs