The issue of teachers’ professional development has drawn the public’s attention as it will affect the quality of the Early Childhood Education (ECE) program and children’s development. The Malaysia Ministry of Education encouraged all ECE teachers to obtain a minimum of a Diploma in Early Childhood Education by 2020 to improve the teacher’s professional development. This study aims to highlight the major challenges faced by preschool teachers in their professional development in Selangor, Malaysia and reveal the impact that either negatively or positively impacts their professional development. The sample of this study is 100 preschool teachers from private and public schools in Selangor who were selected through a purposive sampling method. The data were analysed using the statistical program SPSS (Statistical Package for Social Sciences) which is both accurate and user-friendly. The study concludes that occupation responsibility and time assignment as the main challenge of professional development for preschool teachers. The study established that most respondents agree that developing, implementing, assessing, and legitimizing teacher professional development norms is the best solution to the challenges of professional development for preschool teachers.
Abdul Halim Masnan (2015). New Preschool Teachers Teaching Skills. Research Journal of
Social Sciences, 8(11), 14-19.
Aktan Kerem, E., and D. Cömert. (2007). Study of Teacher Views to Determine the Problems of Pre-school Education in Siirt. 102-112.
Azzi-Lessing, L. (2009). Quality Support Infrastructure in Early Childhood: Still (Mostly) Missing. Early Childhood Research & Practice, 11(1), n1.
Badri, M., Alnuaimi, A., Mohaidat, J., Yang, G., & Al Rashedi, A. (2016). Perception of teachers’ professional development needs, impacts, and barriers: The Abu Dhabi case. Sage Open, 6(3), 2158244016662901.
Badri, A., Boudreau-Trudel, B., & Souissi, A. S. (2018). Occupational health and safety in the industry 4.0 era: A cause for major concern? Safety science, 109, 403-411.
Ball, H. L. (2019). Conducting online surveys. Journal of Human Lactation, 35(3), 413 - 417.
Berndt, A. E. (2020). Sampling methods. Journal of Human Lactation, 36(2), 224-226.
Burke, C., & Grosvenor, I. (2008). School. Reaktion Books.
Carroll, R. (Ed.). (2009). Adaptation in contemporary culture: textual infidelities. A&C Black.
Casini, L., Corsi, A. M., & Goodman, S. (2009). Consumer preferences of wine in Italy applying best?worst scaling. International Journal of Wine Business Research.
Clandinin, D. J., & Connelly, F. M. (1988). Studying teachers' knowledge of classrooms: Collaborative research, ethics, and the negotiation of narrative. The Journal of Educational Thought (JET)/Revue de la Pensée Educative, 22(2A), 269-282.
Cordingley, P., Higgins, S., Greany, T., Buckler, N., Coles-Jordan, D., Crisp, B., ... & Coe, R. (2015). Developing great teaching: lessons from the international reviews into effective professional development.
Elgali, I., Omar, O., Dahlin, C., & Thomsen, P. (2017). Guided bone regeneration: materials and biological mechanisms revisited. European journal of oral sciences, 125(5), 315-337.
Ganser, T. (2000). An ambitious vision of professional development for teachers. NASSP bulletin, 84(618), 6-12.
Glatthorn, A. (1995). Teacher development. International encyclopedia of teaching and teacher education, 2, 41-46.
Goodman, S. H., & Brand, S. R. (2009). Depression and early adverse experiences.
Thakurta, G. S., & Chetty, P. (2015). Understanding research philosophy. Knowledge Tank.
Gut, D. M., Wan, G., Beam, P. C., & Burgess, L. (2016). Reflective Dialog journals: a tool for developing professional competence in novice teachers. School-University Partnerships, 9(2), 60-70.
Hattie, J., & Timperley, H. (2007). The power of feedback. Review of educational research, 77(1), 81-112.
Hoyle, E. (1982). The professionalization of teachers: A paradox. British Journal of Educational Studies, 30(2), 161-171.
Hamre, B. K. (2014). Teachers' daily interactions with children: An essential ingredient in effective early childhood programs. Child Development Perspectives, 8(4), 223 - 230.
Islam, R., Ghani, A. B. A., Kusuma, B., & Theseira, B. B. (2016). Education and Human Capital Effect on Malaysian Economic. International Journal of Economics and Financial Issues, 6(4).
Islam, M. N., & Islam, M. S. (2020). Data Collection and Analysis. In Islam and Democracy in South Asia (pp. 49-65). Palgrave Macmillan, Cham.
Jamil, H., Petras, Y., & Mohamed, A. R. (2013). Investigating Teachers' Professional Identity and Development in Malaysia Preliminary Findings. Teacher Professional Development, 5(3), 41-50.
Jamil, H., Razak, N. A., Raju, R., & Mohamed, A. R. (2011, March). Teacher professional development in Malaysia: Issues and challenges. In Africa-Asia university dialogue for educational development report of the International Experience Sharing Seminar: Actual status and issues of teacher professional development (pp. 85-102).
Khan, M. S. H., Hasan, M., & Clement, C. K. (2012). Barriers to the introduction of ICT into education in developing countries: The example of Bangladesh. International Journal of instruction, 5(2).
Kraft, M. A., & Papay, J. P. (2014). Can professional environments in schools promote teacher development? Explaining heterogeneity in returns to teaching experience. Educational evaluation and policy analysis, 36(4), 476-500.
Liao, M. T., & Wong, C. T. (2010). Effects of dialogue journals on L2 students’ writing fluency, reflections, anxiety, and motivation. Reflections on English Language Teaching, 9(2), 139-170.
Majzub, R. M. (2013). Critical issues in preschool education in Malaysia. Recent advances in educational technologies, 150-155.
Ministry of Education (2009b). Standard Kurikulum Prasekolah Kebangsaan Malaysia. Kuala Lumpur: Kementerian Pelajaran Malaysia.
Ministry of Education (2010). Model Program Induksi Guru Permulaan. Kuala Lumpur: Kementerian Pelajaran Malaysia
National Research Council. (2015). Transforming the workforce for children birth through age 8: A unifying foundation.
Mligo, I. R. (2016). Teachers’ perceptions and concerns about the implementation of the 2005 preschool curriculum in Tanzania. Early Years, 36(4), 353-367.
Mligo, E. S. (2016). Introduction to research methods and report writing: A practical guide for students and researchers in social sciences and the humanities. Wipf and Stock Publishers.
Mohammad, A. I. (2021). Issues And Challenges Confronting History Teachers in The Implementation Of K-12 Curriculum in The Province Of Sulu. Indonesian Community Empowerment Journal, 1(2), 70-91.
Ndirangu, L. K., Omiti, J. M., & Waiyaki, N. N. (2010). Working Paper No. 17 of 2010 on Critical Issues on Food Security in the Nile Basin Countries: An Interventionist Trans-Boundary Approach.
Ntumi, S. (2016). Challenges Pre-School Teachers Face in the Implementation of the Early Childhood Curriculum in the Cape Coast Metropolis. Journal of Education and Practice, 7(1), 54-62.
Pandey, P., & Pandey, M. M. (2021). Research Methodology Tools and Techniques.
Salleh, A. M. M., Omar, K., Aburumman, O. J., Mat, N. H. N., & Almhairat, M. A. (2020). The impact of career planning and career satisfaction on employee's turnover intention. Entrepreneurship and Sustainability Issues, 8(1), 218.
Sheridan, S. M., Edwards, C. P., Marvin, C. A., & Knoche, L. L. (2009). Professional development in early childhood programs: Process issues and research needs. Early education and development, 20(3), 377-401.
Sileyew, K. J. (2019). Research design and methodology. In Cyberspace. IntechOpen.
Silva, M. R., Collier-Meek, M. A., Codding, R. S., Kleinert, W. L., & Feinberg, A. (2021). Data collection and analysis in response-to-intervention: A survey of school psychologists. Contemporary School Psychology, 25(4), 554-571.
Taat, M. S., & De Rozario, G. (2014). The influence of academic attitude and self-efficacy towards students' achievement in private higher learning institution, Malaysia. International Journal of Arts and Commerce, 3(6), 41-50.
Tomaszewski, L. E., Zarestky, J., & Gonzalez, E. (2020). Planning qualitative research: design and decision making for new researchers. International Journal of Qualitative Methods, 19, 1609406920967174.