Transforming Teacher Perspectives: The Impact Of A Participatory Pedagogy Program On Early Childhood Educators' Beliefs About Children's Participation
Keywords:
Children's participation, early childhood education, teacher beliefs, professional developmentAbstract
Background: Children's right to participation is a cornerstone of quality early childhood education (ECE), yet its implementation is often associated with teachers' beliefs and traditional pedagogical models. While many studies document teachers' perspectives, there is a scarcity of research evaluating the outcomes of targeted professional development (PD) designed to influence these views. This study aimed to investigate the relationship between participation in a professional development program, grounded in participatory pedagogy, and early childhood teachers' beliefs and self-reported practices concerning children's participation.
Methods: A quasi-experimental, pre-test/post-test mixed-methods design was employed with a cohort of 24 in-service early childhood teachers in Türkiye. The intervention consisted of a 10-week PD program focused on children's rights, participatory theory, and practical strategies. Data were collected using a pre- and post-intervention survey measuring attitudes towards participation, supplemented by semi-structured interviews and reflective journals to capture qualitative changes in teachers' understanding.
Results: Quantitative analysis revealed a statistically significant positive change in teachers' attitudes toward children's participation following the intervention ($p \< .05$). Thematic analysis of the qualitative data showed a profound conceptual shift. Pre-intervention, teachers defined participation narrowly as "giving choices" and were constrained by a protectionist view of childhood. Post-intervention, they articulated a more complex understanding of participation as a "partnership," viewing children as competent co-constructors of their learning and demonstrating increased confidence in navigating systemic barriers.
Conclusion: Participation in targeted, theoretically-informed professional development is strongly associated with a positive transformation in teachers' beliefs about children's participation, shifting them from tokenistic gestures toward authentic pedagogical partnership. The findings suggest a critical need to embed comprehensive training on children's rights and participatory pedagogy within all levels of teacher education to foster genuinely democratic and child-centered ECE environments.
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