Date
11-13-2024
Department
School of Education
Degree
Doctor of Philosophy in Education (PhD)
Chair
Susan Quindag
Keywords
Challenging Behaviors, Suspension and Expulsion, Racial Implicit Bias, Social and Emotional Development, and Preschool Education
Disciplines
Education
Recommended Citation
Sumner, Sonia Monica, "Early Childhood Educators' Training and Support for Addressing Challenging Behaviors of Students: A Phenomenological Study" (2024). Doctoral Dissertations and Projects. 6206.
https://digitalcommons.liberty.edu/doctoral/6206
Abstract
The purpose of this transcendental phenomenological study was to explore the training and support early childhood educators receive when addressing challenging behaviors. The theory guiding this study is Mezirow’s transformative learning theory. Many early childhood educators response to repeated challenging behaviors is to suspend or expel. This can be an ineffective strategy with many negative developmental trajectories for the future. This study explored the central research question: How do early childhood educators address repeated challenging behaviors from their students? The participants were early childhood educators from the state of North Carolina and were recruited using snowball and purposeful sampling. Data from participants were obtained through structured interviews on Zoom, focus groups, and letter-writing prompts. The information provided by participants was transcribed and analyzed, with member checking to ensure response accuracy. Open and axial coding was used to identify emerging themes. Aggregated themes were generated to achieve horizontalization and triangulation. The study has revealed that early childhood educators highly value their roles but face challenges in managing difficult behaviors. They appreciated the support from local childcare agencies but were dissatisfied with the lack of internal support in their programs. They also expressed a strong interest in collaborating with parents to reduce incidents of challenging behaviors. Participants discussed behavior before and after COVID-19, some noted no change in behaviors while others noted an exacerbation of behaviors. Lastly, they emphasized the need for improved professional development and training when entering the field.
