An explanatory study of kindergarten teachers’ teaching behaviours in their visual arts classrooms

This study aimed at using a mixture of direct observations and interviews to investigate kindergarten teachers' knowledge and pedagogical approaches to visual arts. An adapted version of the Early Childhood Teacher Behaviour Observation (ECTBO) instrument was used to investigate the possible reasons for teachers' current behaviours in Hong Kong visual arts classrooms. In an observation study, a total of 18 classrooms with 76 children in two local kindergartens in Hong Kong were observed during a 30-min visual arts activity. Altogether, 540 min of video data were recorded and analysed using field notes and a time sampling strategy. In addition, 18 class teachers from the observed classrooms were invited to give post-observation interviews, and 810 min of data were recorded. The interview participants supported the importance of non-directive early childhood arts. However, the observation findings revealed that they still relied heavily on directive teaching in implementing early visual arts teaching. Thus, a discrepancy was found between the teachers’ subject matter knowledge in visual arts and the integration of their pedagogies in their actual classroom practice. The findings of this study in a local setting have the potential to significantly change the way in which early childhood visual arts teaching is conceptualised and discussed in international contexts.