Teachers offer what they believe makes a good teacher for children

What is it about?

Beliefs about what makes a good teacher can vary around the world depending upon a region's culture and value system. Using the guidelines set for by the National Association for Education of Young Children in the United States, we created a questionnaire in attempt to measure participants' beliefs about what qualities a good teacher of young children needs to have. This questionnaire was administered to teachers at 2 schools in a large town in Belize. Also, teachers were interviewed in a focus group session to discuss what they believed are traits and practices of good teachers and what are practices some teachers use that need to be improved. Results from the questionnaire and the focus groups indicate that teachers in Belize hold similar views about quality early childhood education as the guidelines issued by the National Association for the Education of Young Children.

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Why is it important?

This study creates a basis for the beliefs teachers in Belize hold about what makes a good teacher for young children. Because beliefs can vary from country to country and culture to culture, one cannot assume that the same perspective will be held globally. Results from this study indicate that teachers in Belize do have beliefs that align with those of early childhood researchers in the United States which can be useful when making educational decisions in that country and trying to use US research to inform decisions.

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