Defining The Preschool Teacher's Perception of Defensibility

Abstract

In this study, an attempt was made to define, for the first time, a concept that has not yet been defined in the research literature concerning kindergarten teachers' perceptions of the sense of defensibility. This study offers a new approach by focusing on the emotional sphere and the defensibility of the preschool teacher in pedagogy, parents, and community, teaching staff rights, and dealings with the Ministry of Education. The research took place during the 2022 academic year. Participants were 209 preschool teachers in Israel working in Israel's various districts. They were asked to answer an anonymous self-report questionnaire explicitly compiled for this study. Two statistical methodologies were chosen for this study, and both are quantitative. The first methodology was the Facet Theory due to its advantages in conceptualizing complex phenomena presented in this study. Responses were analyzed through Smallest Space Analysis (SSA), using the software HUDAP. The second method was Structural Equation Models (SEM) using Amos 21, which enabled comparing the results obtained with the Facet Theory. Two facets were found. The first facet is polar, an unordered facet. The second facet is axial, an ordered facet. Results show that three elements can define a preschool teacher's sense of defensibility: Confidence in external factors, emotional confidence, and professional confidence. All three t depend on perceptions conditioned by the feeling of the preschool teachers themself, aspects conditioned by the perceptions of the community, and aspects conditioned by the Ministry of Education.