No matter who you are or what your station is in life, you have had teachers. In nearly all cases, you have experienced those amazing and wonderful teachers; teachers who were acceptable, albeit not inspired; and teachers who were, um, easily classified as less-than-what-anyone-would-have-chosen teachers, given the choice.
As you are reading this article, I want you to think about – and maybe even list – some of the great teachers you know. They could be kindergarten teachers, third grade teachers, eighth grade English teachers, high school biology teachers, community college or university professors – or someone you know who teaches in the business sector. Get a few of these teachers in mind and then think about each of the following attributes and whether they would apply to those special teachers you have in mind:
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INTRODUCTION
The importance of early years have been emphasized by various researchers. Bloom (1964), pointed out the fast rate of intellectual development in the early years and emphasized the importance of environment. Children were seen as malleable during the preschool years and for the future productivity of children, early educational experiences were seen as crucial (Roopnarine and Johnson, 1987). Hunt (1961), claimed that an enriched environment in early childhood could make significant differences in the level and rate of intellectual development (cited in Goodwin and Driscoll, 1984). Various studies reported by Berrueta-Clement, Schweinhart, Barnett, Epstein and Weikart (1984), Schweinhart, Weikart and Larner (1986), Schweinhart and Weikart (1988) showed that high-quality early childhood programs were effective in overcoming the negative effects of childhood poverty and even produced various short-term and long-term benefits for these children. Various studies pointed out the crucial importance of the component of teacher in early childhood education (Reichenberg-Hackett, 1962; Rosenthal and Jacobson, 1968; Good, Biddle and Brophy, 1975; Kounin, 1970; Scott, 1977). After reviewing these studies it can be said that teacher is the most important factor in a nursery school and increasing the quality of teacher behaviors will positively effect the quality of early childhood education services. The initial step for working on the performance of teachers is evaluation. Teacher behaviors need to be evaluated to determine the existing strengths and weaknesses so that interventions can be provided to reinforce the strenghts and build up the weak points. The evaluation process necessitates objective means for assessment. Search by the present researcher showed that there was a need to develop a tool for this purpose in Turkish early childhood education system. The aim of this study was to develop a rating scale that could be used by people trained in the field to evaluate teacher performance in terms of direct observable interaction of teachers with the children in the nursery schools.
The Component of Teacher in Preschool Education
Preschool education consists of the components of physical environment, teacher, children, administrator, aim of the center, curriculum, evaluation and parent involvement. All of these components are very important and all of them have certain requirements. The high quality in early childhood education can only be obtained when these components and the requirements of these components are correctly applied. One most emphasized component; the dimension of ‘teacher’ constitutes the most important element of preschool education. Several studies were carried out to show the vital importance of teacher in early childhood education (Reichenberg-Hackett, 1962; Rosenthal and Jacobson, 1968; Good et al., 1975; Kounin, 1970; Fagot, 1973; Hyman, 1973; Garbarino, Guttman and Seeley, 1986). In the light of research that has been carried out it can be concluded that without a creative teacher who is sensitive to the needs of children and knowledgeable about the developmental characteristics of preschool age children, other components of preschool education cannot function effectively. The studies carried out showed that among the factors that influence teacher behavior, SES of the center and the children, aim of the center, age of the teacher, sex of children, characteristics of the program followed, work related stress, conception of the work setting, getting rewards from the system, higher expectations about teacher performance, opportunities for personal development, working in a centralized versus democratic decision making systems can be cited (Tizard, Philps and Plewis, 1976; Fagot, 1973; Quay and Jarrett, 1986; Good et al., 1975).
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Contrary to popular notions, teacher licensing in public schools does not insure teacher quality. A license also does not even insure that a public-school teacher knows much about the subject she teaches. In fact, in our upside-down public-school system, licensing often leads to ill-trained and mediocre teachers instructing our children. As we will see, it turns out that teacher licensing is a protection racket.
The notion that only state-approved, licensed teachers can guarantee children a good education is proven wrong by history and common sense. In ancient Athens, the birthplace of logic, science, philosophy, and Western civilization, city authorities did not require teachers to be licensed. Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle did not have to get a teaching license from Athenian bureaucrats to open up their Academies. A teacher’s success came only from his competence, reputation, and popularity. Students and their parents paid a teacher only if they thought he was worth the money. Competition and an education free market produced great teachers in ancient Greece.
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