The effects of professional development on preschool teachers’ mathematics instruction

Abstract

The primary purpose of this study is to critically investigate the association between preschool teachers’ mathematics instruction and their participation in a preschool mathematics intervention program in terms of three perspectives. First, the study examined whether preschool teachers’ participation in the preschool mathematics intervention program had significant effects on implementing mathematical activities more often and with higher quality in their classrooms. Second, within the treatment group, the study examined the effects of exposure to professional development on the amount and quality of mathematics activities the teachers provided for their students and their level of implementation of the curriculum. Third, the study sought to examine the effects of teachers’ overall satisfaction with the curriculum and the professional development support they received on the amount and quality of math instruction and their curriculum implementation level. Although participation in a professional development increased the quantity and quality of preschool teachers’ mathematics instruction, the results raised important issues for future research to investigate in terms of individual contributions of professional development models on preschool teachers’ mathematics instruction.