Examination of early childhood educators’ attitude to education and care

Abstract

The aim of our study was to map the educational and care attitudes of early childhood educators in relation to certain background variables – such as work experience, professional qualifications, age, and personal competencies. We reached 128 early childhood educators, half of them working in towns and the other half of them working in county seats. We compared our data with the results of Gyöngy’s 2011 national research. The age composition of early childhood educators became more favourable, the profession became younger and their average age decreased. The level of qualifications of early childhood educators has also risen over the last nearly decade. In our study, the proportion of graduates is close to 30%. Of the various arts education activities, telling nursery rhymes is the most popular among early childhood educators, followed by singing. Musical instrument play is not one of the strengths of early childhood educators, with those with a higher level of education showing a slightly better picture than average. However, in most cases, the personal preference of early childhood educators seems to be more influential than the level of education in what art education opportunities they enjoy. The tools needed for creation are made available by early childhood educators, but more experienced professionals are more likely to engage in planned creative activities. However, only coloured pencils and crayons are used for this purpose. There is a fear that over the years, routine will prevail, creativity will be overshadowed, less new ideas, new materials and objects will be involved in creative activity. The knowledge described above can be utilized in compiling the materials and topics of trainings, which can help to enable early childhood educators to more effectively develop in the development of toddlers’ personality.