Characteristics and guidelines for effective professional development of early childhood teachers in STEM education
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Abstract
STEM education fosters 21st-century skills and promotes the holistic development of young children. However, research indicates that many early childhood teachers still experience limitations in their knowledge, conceptual understanding, practical skills, and confidence in implementing STEM education, limiting the effectiveness of learning experiences. Therefore, professional development serves as a key mechanism for enhancing educational quality. This article aims to present ten key characteristics and five guidelines for the professional development of early childhood teachers in STEM education through a review of relevant literature and research. The findings reveal that key characteristics include coherence with context and needs, content focus, active learning, the use of models and modeling, classroom-focused learning, reflection and feedback, collaboration, sustained duration, job-embedded learning, and coaching and expert support. The proposed guidelines emphasize clear goal setting, content-focused learning, practice-based learning, resource support, and sustained implementation with multi-level stakeholder participation. These findings provide a conceptual framework for designing and implementing professional development programs or curricula and for selecting appropriate professional development approaches to strengthen early childhood teachers’ competencies in STEM learning management, ultimately enhancing the quality of young children’s learning in the long term.
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หากผู้เสนอบทความมีความจำเป็นเร่งด่วนในการตีพิมพ์โปรดส่งลงตีพิมพ์ในวารสารฉบับอื่นแทน โดยกองบรรณาธิการจะไม่รับบทความหากผู้เสนอบทความไม่ปฏิบัติตามเงื่อนไขและขั้นตอนที่กำหนดอย่างเคร่งครัด ข้อมูลของเนื้อหาในบทความถือเป็นลิขสิทธิ์ของ Journal of Inclusive and Innovative Education คณะศึกษาศาสตร์ มหาวิทยาลัยเชียงใหม่
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