An Action Research To Enhance Kindergarten Teachers’ Time Management Skills

Time is an important educational resource,and the importance of time management has become one of the most important issues in today’s educational development.In kindergartens,teachers’ working time status largely affects the quality of their education and teaching,and time management has unique significance for teachers’ work efficiency,children’s development and even kindergarten performance.Therefore,it is necessary to explore kindergarten teachers’ time management,to understand how kindergarten teachers allocate,use,and optimize their time,and to reflect and grow in the process.In recent years,many studies in this field have pointed out that teachers have many problems in time management,and teachers who are aware of time management can use certain management skills to achieve greater effectiveness in their work and continue to improve their professional competence through summaries and reflections.Therefore,this study takes time management as an entry point to explore how to improve kindergarten teachers’ time management skills in practice.This study was conducted in a provincial model kindergarten in Henan Province using an action research paradigm.The research process was divided into three stages: the first stage focused on the problem of unclear time planning and priorities,the second stage improved time planning execution based on the first round,and the third stage improved time evaluation ability and organizational management based on the first two rounds.In addition,various methods were used in the study to collect relevant data:observation method was used to find out the factors affecting teachers’ time management and the problems in teachers’ time management;interview method was used to further understand teachers’ views on their own time management behaviors;and questionnaire method was used to simply measure teachers’ time management ability before and after the study.A specific course of action research was carried out by continuously designing,experimenting,and reflecting on the issues of this study.Through the three phases of action research,the following results were achieved: teachers went from having no plan to having a clear time plan,teachers’ implementation of time plan was more timely,teachers’ time assessment and kindergarten organization and management were more scientific and appropriate,and teachers’ time management ability was greatly improved compared with that before the action.From the three rounds of action research,the researcher concluded specific methods to improve teachers’ time management ability: time quadrants can provide reference for teachers to prioritize their work;teacher support groups can help teachers optimize their work effectiveness;time logs can effectively improve teachers’ time evaluation and reflection ability;and the improvement of management system can effectively mobilize teachers’ intrinsic motivation.Suggestions for further improving teachers’ time management ability at work are as follows: reshaping the concept of time and highlighting individual dynamic awareness;strengthening the sense of cooperation and forming peer learning teams;using garden-based training to enrich teachers’ time management theories;regular internal communication and improving the organizational management system.