Comparing beliefs about and practices of developmentally appropriate practices among Greek and Cypriot pre-service kindergarten teachers

Abstract

Considering the potentially important influence of teachers' beliefs on their practices, the purpose of the present study was to examine what, if anything, pre-service kindergarten teachers from Greece and Cyprus had in common in terms of self-reported beliefs and self-reported practices related to the National Association for the Education of Young Children's policy statement for developmentally appropriate practices. Pearson correlations and one-way analysis of variance were used to compare overall mean scores for beliefs measured by the Teachers Beliefs Scale to those of practices measured by the Instructional Activities Scale. Research analyses revealed both similarities and differences as far as Cypriots' and Greeks' beliefs and practices are concerned. Nationality has been found to be correlated with the mean score assigned in the total survey. Further, beliefs have been found to predict self-reported practices.

Keywords:

• pre-service kindergarten teachers
• beliefs and practices
• developmentally appropriate practice (DAP)
• National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC)
• teacher beliefs and practices survey: 3–5-year-olds