Examining Professional Identity Development in Training through Preschool Teachers’ Understanding on Assessment Guidelines in Lishui, China

HRMARS - Professional development of identity is fundamental for preschool teachers. However, it is shaped in a different way by institutional context and teaching experience. Limited studies in Lishui focus on teachers' understanding of five major competencies during training, those interests are emotional competence, growth, collaboration, self-efficacy and ethics. The purpose of this study is to examine preschool teachers’ understanding of professional identity development in training, focusing on emotional and social competence, commitment to professional growth, collaborative and professional engagement, professional self-efficacy, and ethical and professional responsibility based on preschool type and years of teaching experience. A descriptive quantitative research design was used to conduct this study. 100 preschool teachers were selected through purposive sampling technique which consists of 50 preschool teachers from private preschools and 50 from government preschools. Participants split into experience groups of less than 5 years, from 6–10 years, from 11–15 years, from 16–20 years, and more than 21 years. The study finds high levels of professional identity among preschool teachers, with the highest scores for Ethical and Professional Responsibility (M = 4.43) and lowest for Collaborative Engagement (M = 4.05). Both data are consistent and normally distributed. Finding also shows significantly higher in Emotional and Social Competence, for government teachers (M = 4.38 vs 4.22, t = -2.60, p =. 010), Collaborative Engagement (M = 4.22 vs 3.98, t = -3.10, p =. 003) for Professional Self-Efficacy (M = 4.28 vs 4.12, t = -2.50, p=. 014). Teaching experience has a significant impact on Emotional Competence (F = 4.10, p =. 008), Collaboration (F = 4.65, p =. 004), Self-Efficacy (F = 5.20, p =. 002), whereas other constructs stayed fairly stable. Preschool teachers show high professional competencies but there are differences by institutional context and experience. The research stresses the need to reinforce institutional support, facilitate collaborative learning through observation of practice and hinge on experiential training as a means of promoting acquisition of an integrated professional identity in early childhood education.