Developing and validating educator and child interaction process quality measure in kindergartens: A mixed-methods research

Abstract

This study has been designed and implemented with the aim of developing and validating educator and child interaction process quality measurement in Tehran’s kindergartens.research

The present research was a sequential exploratory mixed method that carried out in two parts, qualitative and quantitative. In the qualitative part, three phases of the hybrid model were used. In the theoretical phase, the subject was searched in main databases. . In the fieldwork phase, the research method was descriptive phenomenology. Therefore, 10 educators and 8 faculty members were selected by purposive sampling method. Data were collected by semi-structured interview and then analyzed by Colaizzi’s method. Final analysis was done in the last phase. The validity of qualitative data has been confirmed using four judgment criteria of Lincoln and Guba, the reliability of qualitative data has also been confirmed through intra-subject agreement and test-retest. In the quantitative part, After formulating the questionnaire and investigating the face and content validity of the items, the data were collected from a sample of 220 educators who were selected through sampling of stage cluster.

After analyzing the qualitative data, 6 main themes consisted of individual characteristics, positive emotional climate, supportiveness, educational support, participation and cooperation and behavior management were extracted. In the quantitative part, the confirmatory factor analysis and Cronbach's Alpha coefficient were used to determine the construct validity and the reliability. The results of confirmatory factor analysis showed that the six-factor hierarchical model has a good fit. Also, Cronbach's Alpha coefficient, was calculated to be 0.94 for the total questionnaire, which indicates the acceptable internal consistency.

The findings of this study showed that based on the obtained factors, the interaction process quality questionnaire is a reliable and valid tool for assessing the quality of child-educator interaction in Iran.