ABSTRACT
Around the world, preschool education policy reforms have raised the qualification requirements for teachers. University preparation, research-based practice and high-quality in-service education have become important ingredients of preschool teachers’ professionalism. However, the teachers’ views often decouple from, or contradict to, these reform initiatives. This paper introduces the results of a written questionnaire survey conducted among the Estonian preschool teachers (n = 576). We asked the respondents’ views and expectations on the reform policies concerning preschool teachers’ professionalism. The cluster analysis enabled to distinguish between 5 clusters of teachers. It emerged that whereas teachers from different clusters espoused different views and expectations in most aspects, the respondents from all clusters alike attributed little value to university-based preparation, scientific and research-based practice, and engagement in research activity. The possible social-political and personal reasons for this phenomenon will be discussed.
