An Exploratory Study on the Beliefs and Practices of
Teacher-Child Interactions of Selected Early Childhood Educators in Singapore

Abstract

This study investigates teachers’ beliefs and practices in terms of classroom verbal interactions with children, specifically in the area of affective and instructional interactions. The results have shown inconsistencies between teachers’ beliefs about verbal interactions and their practices. The multi-source approach to data collection involves nine kindergartens and ten child care centres, with a total of thirty teacher-participants. All participants satisfy the minimum qualifications required to be accredited early childhood educators under the Preschool Qualification Accreditation Committee guidelines of 2009. Written documents, direct observations and interviews are collected as data. The findings indicate that most teachers have similar expressed beliefs, however their practices differ. Teachers’ level and types of general education, prior early childhood school experiences and personal attributes have an important influence on their verbal behaviour. Classroom physical and material environment and the opportunities given to teachers to modify and adapt their lessons also make a difference to teacher-child talk. It is concluded that a higher entrant qualification could be the answer for better teacher-child interaction practices. However the individual teachers are the ones to make a difference but continuous support and encouragement are essential for sustained reflective practice. At the teacher education level, rigourous process-oriented training on instructional techniques coupled with a contextualised and practice-focused coaching model are vital for honing teacher-child interaction skills.