Early childhood educators' self-efficacy, science perceptions, and professional development experiences in the Southeastern U.S. and Catalonia.

Prior research has found relationships between science-based professional development (PD) and early childhood educators’ self-efficacy, perceptions of science education, and challenges they experience implementing activities. However, there is limited understanding of how these connections differ across international contexts. This study explored differences between early childhood educators from Catalonia, Spain, and the Southeastern U.S. regarding science perceptions, experiences, and engagement in PD. A total of 396 early childhood educators from Catalonia (Spain), and the Southeastern U.S. completed the P-TABS Questionnaire. T-test and Pearson's correlations found U.S. educators were more comfortable teaching science and Spain educators engaged in more PD. Across all participants, educators with more experience or those with more PD were more comfortable teaching science and had fewer challenges. Further, participants who engaged in more PD perceived more benefits to children. Implications for future research include examining these differences through qualitative methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]