The Evaluation Techniques in Early Childhood Education: A Comparative Research

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the evaluation techniques applied in preschool education by the teachers and prospective teachers in kindergartens, who are also the sample of our research, in the region of Epirus and at the University of Ioannina. In particular, a comparative study between the two groups was sought in order to ascertain both their knowledge of evaluation and the type of techniques chosen, as well as their frequency of application. In our research we used the structured questionnaire with closed and some clarifying open-ended questions. The data of the research highlighted the prospective teachers’ more positive attitude to apply alternative evaluation techniques to kindergarten but ultimately the difficulty in their practical implementation. At the same time, kindergarten teachers seem to feel inadequate in terms of training and updating them on evaluation issues, they are reluctant to pursue the evaluation’s aims and use more traditional and stereotypical ways of evaluating the expected outcomes of teaching and learning. Despite the limitations of the research, the data is the trigger for further exploration of the subject of teacher education and the reform of the curriculum in the pedagogical departments of Preschool Education of the Greek Universities in order to divest the kindergarten from the promotional character and the authentic evaluation through the holistic approach to ensure the children’s promotion of development and learning by the children themselves.

Keywords: evaluation techniques, Early Childhood Education, teachers, prospective teachers.