Male participation in Early Childhood Education (ECE) : a study on factors and self-efficacy

Abstract

The main purpose of the study is to investigate male’s participation in ECE as well as their motivation and self–efficacy. The study employed a convenient sampling procedure and data were collected using an adapted questionnaire by Goh and Atputhasamy (2001) “Motives for Teaching” and “Teacher Sense of Efficacy Scale (TSES)” by (Tschannen-Moran & Hoy, 2001). A total of 100 male practitioners in ECE were identified from Kuala Lumpur and Selangor area completed the questionnaires from the Permata International Conference, 2016 at Putra World Trade Centre (PWTC). The data were analysed using frequencies, descriptive statistics-test, and Confirmatory Factor Analysis via AMOS version 22. The findings of this study revealed that the most dominant Motives for Teaching are Service Condition. In addition, it was found that there is a significant relationship between Motives for teaching and the practitioners’ level of self-efficacy. This finding indicates that the factors that motivates male to participate in ECE is Service condition in which they are satisfied with the benefits and job scope of the profession as well as Altruism in which they believed in influencing other people’s young lives. Hence, deeper and more extensive research needs to be carried out in order to understand the issues of male participation in ECE.