Guidelines to Enhance Professional Competency of Child Care Teachers at Child Development Centers under Local Government Organizations

Abstract

The research objectives were to conduct a needs assessment, determine needs priorities, and propose suggestions for professional competency development for child care teachers at child development centers under local government organizations. Study sample comprised 397 child care teachers. The reliability of the questionnaire was determined using Cronbach's alpha coefficient, yielding an overall value of 0.96, and a focus group discussion guideline. Data analysis employed techniques such as frequency distribution, percentages, means, standard deviations, the Modified Priority Needs Index, and content analysis. Research results are the following: 1. indicating the needs for child care teacher for all dimensions of professional competency development; 2) needs priority for development in descending order are learner's development, curriculum and teaching management, quality service, and morality and ethics; 2. key suggestions for competency development are 1) teacher development enabling actual new learning process management techniques suitable for the 21st Century such as Web-Based Learning, Project-Based Learning, Student-Center Learning, Self-Directed Learning, Collaborative Learning, and Problem-Based Learning; 2) development on learning and innovation skills suitable for real life 21st Century -- 4C's: creativity and innovation, critical thinking and problem solving, communication, and collaboration, and 3) development of curriculum and learning as (1) vision formulation oriented to 4C's, (2) community of collaboration building among stakeholders to feel ownership by shared vision design, (3) child develop center system building for shared vision towards 4C's; (4) making 4C's as professional development framework, (5) injecting 4C's in curriculum and evaluation, (6) encouraging all teachers to instruct according to 4C's, and (7) building sustainable 4C's development culture.