The “Degree” of Instructor Education and Child Outcomes in Junior Kindergarten: A Comparison of Certificated Teachers and Early Childhood Educators

The goal of this study was to explore differences in the social and cognitive development of 4-year-old children in junior kindergarten, taught by groups of differentially educated instructors. Indices of social competence and social skills (i.e., solitary play, reticent behaviors, sociodramatic play) and cognitive skills (i.e., vocabulary, storybook knowledge, counting) were assessed for children in classrooms instructed by early childhood educators (with 2-year college degrees in early childhood education) and by teachers (who have obtained a university teaching certificate). Results from a series of MANOVAs indicated that children taught by differentially educated teachers did not differ in terms of social and cognitive skills. Results are discussed in terms of conceptual and policy implications associated with the use of differentially educated early childhood instructors.