Exploring the Impact of Integrating the Nursery Teacher Certificate on Student Teachers’ Teaching Competences in Teacher Education in Shaanxi, China

Abstract

This quantitative study investigates the impact of integrating the Nursery Teacher Certificate into teacher education in Chinese vocational and technical colleges, specifically focusing on the perspectives of student teachers majoring in Early Childhood Care Education. The study aims to assess the influence of integrating the Nursery Teacher Certificate into nursery teacher education on the teaching competences of student teachers. A sample of 95 respondents, enrolled in the Early Childhood Care Education program across five vocational and technical colleges in Shaanxi, China, participated in the study. The findings reveal that integrating the Nursery Teacher Certificate has a positive impact on student teachers’ knowledge, skills, and attitudes, enhancing their practical teaching competence. However, the certificate program neglects the cultivation of classroom management skills in the teacher education, highlighting the need for a more comprehensive approach to address this gap. These findings have implications for the revision of certificate curricula to incorporate explicit training in classroom management and emphasize the importance of nurturing well-rounded teaching competences. By addressing this discrepancy, teacher education programs can better prepare future nursery teacher educators for the challenges they may face in their teaching careers.