My Childhood Unforgettable Moment

Struggles of Teachers in Dealing Preschool Children

A RESEARCH PAPER

Submitted to the Teacher Education Department of Southern Leyte State University- College of Teacher Education

In Partial Fulfillment of the Subject Requirement in PRES 307

(Research in Preschool Education)

To the Professional Development of Southern Leyte State University- College of Teacher Education

Tolibas, Jaicah F.

Cupat, Malou C.

Hinunangan, Mary Joy M.

Ranque, Maria Geraldyn A.

1. Rationale

The study claims that teacher faces different struggles that can losses in their personal and professional life-whether material, physical, and emotional losses, they all matter and affect the teacher differently. Every struggle has something to teach you: a renewed mind, compassion, kindness, a more positive perspective of life.

Preschool teachers nurture, teach, and care for children who have not yet entered kindergarten. They provide early childhood care and education through a variety of teaching strategies. They teach children, usually aged 3 to 5, both in groups and one on one. They do so by planning and implementing a curriculum that covers various areas of a child’s development, such as motor skills, social and emotional development, and language development. 

Preschool teachers often work with students from varied ethnic, racial, and religious backgrounds. With growing minority populations in most parts of the country, it is important for teachers to be able to work effectively with a diverse student population. Accordingly, some schools offer training to help teachers enhance their awareness and understanding of different cultures. Teachers may also include multicultural programming in their lesson plans, to address the needs of all students, regardless of their cultural background.

Preschool education is education that focuses on educating children from the ages of infancy until six years old. The system of preschool education varies widely, with different approaches, theories, and practices within different school jurisdictions. The term preschool education includes such programs as nursery school, day care, or kindergarten, which are occasionally used interchangeably, yet are distinct entities. While pedagogies differ, there is the general agreement that preschool is responsible for providing education before the commencement of statutory education.

The proliferation of preschool education in the twentieth century can be connected to advances in developmental psychology, such as in the work of Jean Piaget which revealed the nature of psychological development that occurs in the early years of childhood, and from the educators such as Froebel who recognized that children need stimulation, particularly that provided by play and role playing, from a young age in order to develop their full potential, as well as from the needs of large numbers of working mothers to provide a good environment for their young children during working hours. Thus, preschool environments vary depending on whether their main focus is care of the children such as in a daycare program, which nonetheless acts as a socialization experience that extends beyond the family and prepares the children for school, and those which were specifically designed to provide early educational experiences for young children, such as the kindergarten.

Being a teacher is one of the most stressful jobs a person can have, and if you’re a teacher, you will know that one of the most stressful periods during the job occurs in the first year. With shifts and changes in the social and professional context of 21st century education (Clandinin, Downey, & Huber, 2009), however, beginning teachers are especially challenged by conflicts between their personal beliefs and the reality of teaching, in addition to the struggles first-year teachers often encounter(Brown, 2006;Day, 1999; Veenman, 1984; Vonk, 1993).

Being a teacher is a much bigger struggle that people think. Not only do teachers have to deal with constant scrutinization from their friends and families. They also have to deal with the constant societal stigma that teachers only teach because they cannot do anything else. Being a teacher means that you will have to face the struggles and difficulties that all new jobs have, as well as having to deal with the high stakes of education; it’s a lot to take on. In this study, you will find the common new teacher struggles that every new teacher has to face, as well as the solutions to make that first year a little easier.

As most teachers and teacher educators would concur, the journey of becoming a teacher is not always smooth. Beginning teachers bring their personal experiences and beliefs with them into teacher education programs (Beijaard, Meijer, & Verloop, 2004; Clandinin & Connelly, 1996; He & Levin, 2008; Levin & He, 2008; Lortie, 1975; Richardson, 2003).

With this study the researchers will be able to determine the specific concept on the struggles of teachers of what strategies they used to help their self to face their concerns. Identification of their concerns and especially the strategies they used as they better understood their students and their students’ families and became more aware of their identities as teachers also shed light on reforms in current teacher education efforts.