A comparison of urban and rural kindergarten teachers’ perceptions of school safety for young children: implications for quality teacher education

ABSTRACT

Although a quality preschool supports young children's health and safety, ‘quality' has been defined diversely enough that its delivery has been varied among kindergarten teachers. The current study was the first to examine and compare perceptions of school safety between urban and rural kindergarten teachers. Sixty-seven Hong Kong teachers (from an urban region of China) and 111 Yunnan teachers (from a rural region of China) rated their perceived knowledge and attitudes regarding child safety and perceived school safety for young children. The results showed that although Yunnan teachers rated their schools’ safety less favourably than did Hong Kong teachers, they rated themselves as having better knowledge and stronger attitudes about child safety. Hong Kong teachers’ age and total teaching experience and Yunnan teachers’ perceived knowledge significantly predicted their perceived school safety for young children. The implications for ‘quality' as a multi-level construct in relation to quality teacher education are discussed.

KEYWORDS:

• Urban and rural kindergarten teachers
• perceived school safety
• quality teacher education

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Notes on contributor

Yau-ho Paul Wong is a Senior Teaching Fellow at the Department of Early Childhood Education, The Hong Kong Institute of Education. His research interests include teachers and childrens well-being issues.