The Master Teacher degree and the continuous professional development from kindergarten teachers’ perspective

Abstract

The research examines the plans and the implementation of the Master Programs of those kindergarten teachers who completed the Master Teacher degree of the Hungarian teacher promotion system within the Completion, Testing and Revision of the Teacher Qualification System pilot program in 2014-2015. It provides empirical data of the teachers’ professional development – resulting in the upraise of the quality of early years education – through focussing on the context, the organization, and the individual in the workplace. The quantitative and qualitative data analysis of the 95 master program identified what plans the teachers elaborated regarding their professional development for the five years of the program. What does inspire them, what goals they set, and how they plan to share their knowledge? Via semi-structured interviews, the background of the planning, the successes, and the difficulties of the realization was explored. According to the results, the master teachers’ main concern is to renew their pedagogical methods and to adjust the administrative tasks to the innovations and the changing legislation. The teachers highlighted the challenges and the benefits of the qualification and promotion system, the role of the Master Teachers in the organization. They gave a glimpse of the attitude of the teachers towards the qualification system and process. The empirical data contribute to the research on the kindergarten teacher profession and early childhood education in Hungary, which can help develop the qualification system and give an overview of the present situation of the Hungarian pre-primary education and its innovative trends from the perspective of the kindergarten teachers.