Challenges associated with group composition: A qualitative study about the perceptions of teachers in Portuguese public preschools

Abstract

We investigated the perceptions of teachers about challenges and opportunities associated with group characteristics in early childhood education (ECE) settings. We analyzed individual semi-structured interviews with 18 preschool teachers (Mage = 51.77, SD = 7.74), serving in Portuguese public ECE settings, using thematic analysis. According to teachers' accounts, groups with children with disabilities, mixed-age groups and groups with a higher number of younger children, socioeconomic disadvantaged groups, groups with children who speak a language other than Portuguese, and groups with more boys than girls, can be particularly challenging; larger groups and a lower adult-child ratio can also present increased challenges. Teachers noted the impact of teachers' age on their ability to manage groups perceived as more challenging. Teachers’ accounts further indicated that increased challenges can result from an interaction between microsystemic variables. Findings support the relevance of considering multiple structure characteristics and the interactions among them when investigating variations in ECE quality.