Pro-KomMa

Professionalization of early childhood teacher education: Convergent, discriminant and prognostic validation of the KomMa models and tests

Abstract

From a methodological point of view,Pro-KomMa will provide further steps in validating inferences to be drawn from the tests developed in theKomMaproject. Aim of the tests is to represent preschool teachers’ professional competenciesin the field of mathematics at the end of their training. It was hypothesized that thesecompetencies are acquired during preschool teacher education. Furthermore, it was hypothesized that they are relevant for everyday job situations in preschool, in particularfor fostering children’s development of mathematical literacy. To test convergent, discriminant,and prognostic validity, in a first study a broad range of preschool teachers’ and children’scharacteristics will be assessed. In a second study, preservice preschool teachers’ competence development during their training will be assessed in a longitudinal design. Results of these two studieswill be related to results obtained with the mathematics content knowledge (MCK), mathematics pedagogical content knowledge (MPCK) and general pedagogical knowledge (GPK) tests of the forerunner project KomMa. From a substantive point of view,Pro-KomMa contributes to the examination of the effectiveness of early childhood teacher education. It will also be possibleto examineprospective preschool teachers’ competence development during teacher education. Additionally, test scores representing preschool teachers’ professional competence will be related to test scores representing children’s mathematical competence.

Aims and Research Questions

Main aim of the Pro-KomMa project is the validation of the tests developed in the forerunner project KomMa. These tests assess different constructs assumed to be acquired during teacher education and to be relevant for fostering children’s mathematical literacy. The substudyof Pro-KomMa carried out by Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin and Freie Universität Berlin examines this hypothesized causal relationship. Consequently, Pro-KomMa partly examines the effectiveness of early childhood education studies with regard to contents. In the ASH (Alice-Salomon-Hochschule) substudy,preschool teachers’ performance will be assessed and related to competence profiles. Hence, knowledge about preschool teachers’ practice and specifically about preschool teacher-child interaction will be gathered.

Based on modern validity theory (Kane, 2013), the following main and sub-aims will be followed:

1) Examination of the validity of the tests concerning preschool teachers’ competence development during their studies

a. Examination of the factorial structure of MCK, MPCK and GPK in a longitudinal design(beginning and end of academic studies)

b. Examination of the factorial structure of cognitive dispositions and cognitive skills

c. Examination of the sensitivity of the tests concerning competence development from the beginning of the studies to the end

d. Examination of convergent and discriminant validity concerning predictors for competence development

e. Examination of convergent, discriminant and incremental validityconcerning individual characteristics which were deducted from a nomological net

2) Examination of the prognostic validity of the tests developed in the KomMa project

a. Prognostic validation concerning preschool teachers’performance in daily-life situations in preschool

b. Prognostic validity concerning the development of children’s mathematical competencies

Project Data