Abstract

Studies show that the single most important factor determining the quality of the education a child receives is the quality of his teacher. The aim of this study is to explore the preschool teacher quality teaching in lesson preparation and implementation in Penang state, Malaysia. A preschool teacher should be able to apply systematic methods of preparing lesson plan and implementing teaching in preschool. This research employs quantitative method using questionnaire which was answered by 476 respondents. The qualitative method utilizes observation to collect data from six participating preschool teachers. The first stage of the study is to administer a self-assessment questionnaire that is related to lesson preparation and implementation. The second stage is classroom observation to identify the preschool teacher’s teaching based on the descriptors and indicators developed. The observation data obtained will support and further complement the preschool teacher’s self-assessment on their lesson preparation and implementation of teaching. The results from the questionnaire revealed that the preschool teachers perceived that they are of high quality in lesson preparation and implementation. They can be categorized as quality teachers based on the descriptors and indicators developed. In this study, quality preschool teachers mean that they can deliver effective instruction, focusing on lesson preparation and implementation. However, the data from observation failed to support the quantitative findings. Only two out of six respondents showed good quality teaching while three respondents have average quality in their teaching. There was one respondent who was of a low quality. This implies that teacher education programs for in-service training need to be revised and upgraded in order to improve the preschool teachers’ teaching quality.