PRESCHOOL TEACHERS' PERCEPTIONS OF THEIR ROLE IN RELATION TO THEIR STUDENTS
Abstract
This article examines the perceptions of preschool teachers in reference to their role regarding their students. According to literature, the social contexts present in the school unit (Ahonen, Pyhältö, Pietarinen, & Soini, 2014; Avgitidou, & Gourgiotou, 2016; Matsagouras, & Poulou, 2009), with which teachers interact, influence the formation of their perceptions of their role (Ahonen et al., 2014; Broeder, & Stokmans, 2012; Burke, 1997; Konstantinou, 2015; Samuel, & Stephens, 2000). The qualitative method was followed for the design of the research tool and its analysis. The study involved 47 preschool teachers serving in public kindergartens in Western Greece. Preschool teachers' perceptions of their role in relation to children were derived using an open-ended questionnaire, in which they were asked to report some metaphors or metaphorical images descriptive of their role. The NVivo-8 qualitative analysis software was utilized for data analysis. The results of the study revealed six main categories regarding the perceptions of preschool teachers about their role in relation to students.
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DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.46827/ejes.v8i8.3855
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