Changing Views of Preschool Teacher Students on the Boundaries of Practical Training: Possibilities for Adapting the TSES Questionnaire

Abstract

This study investigated the attitudes and beliefs of third-year BA students in kindergarten education before and after an eight-week internship in the spring of 2024/2025. Owing to disparities in domestic practices from European systems, a standardised questionnaire could not be utilised, limiting the generalisability of the results. The preschool teacher students completed two questionnaires. One is the Teachers' Sense of Efficacy Scale (TSES), which is a well-established instrument used in English-speaking countries. It was translated into English and adapted for kindergarten teachers, no longer remaining standardised. Given the absence of a standardised instrument, the researcher modified an existing questionnaire for the observed practice. The other instrument comprised six open-ended questions, which were analysed using grounded theory to explore changes in views (Zank, 2023). The TSES may be relevant in assessing teachers' self-efficacy beliefs, including those of kindergarten teachers. Teachers with strong self-efficacy beliefs create more innovative positive teaching-learning environments that are potentially applicable to preschool practices. This may be related to commitment to teaching, as confidence may increase retention (Hao, 2024). Self-efficacy beliefs may influence children's attitudes towards education during kindergarten-to-school transition (Çakır, 2020). The original TSES was developed by Tschannen-Moran and Hoy (2001). We modified and translated this scale to Hungarian.