Current Needs of Preschool Teachers for Professional Development in Greece

Abstract

This paper presents a brief overview of the literature regarding preschool teachers’ careers and professional development. The main purpose of the part of the study presented here was to conduct a needs-assessment exercise to identify the specific needs for professional development of early childhood teachers’ in Greece. Data were collected through a focus group. Results highlighted the challenges of moving forward in a teaching career and the need for increasing professional development opportunities that match teachers’ needs and interests. Professionals indicated that the absence of teacher-parents’ collaboration and structured practices for dealing with children’s discipline issues are their basic concerns. Implications of the study’s results are also discussed This project has been funded by the Erasmus+ Programme of the European Union. Project Number: 626146-EPP-1-2020-2-EL-EPPKA3-PI-POLICY

Keywords

• Professional development
• Quality of education
• Preschool teachers’ needs
• Early childhood education and care