Given the significant time that children aged zero to six spend in early childhood education and care (ECEC) settings, it is imperative that we understand the drivers of ECEC quality. The role of educator personality in the quality of ECEC settings has received little attention from researchers. Using a sample of 595 educators from 240 infant and toddler classrooms, the present study examined (1) the role that educator personality plays on key quality indicators in Canadian ECEC settings, (2) the factor validity of the Mini Markers, a commonly used measure of personality, and (3) whether there are subgroups of educators based on personality characteristics, using a latent profile analysis (LPA). Results showed an acceptable factor structure of the Mini Markers measure of personality with early childhood educators. Furthermore, personality was positively related to both structural and process quality indicators. Specifically, the structural indicators of income and years in the classroom were positively and significantly related to Agreeableness and Extraversion (small and medium effects, respectively). In terms of process quality, educators’ level of Extraversion had a positive and significant relationship with the quality of responsive interactions they provide to children (small effect). Finally, the LPA revealed diverse educator personality types with no significant variation at the classroom level. This study highlights the need for ongoing research to explore the connection between educators' personalities and quality in ECEC, with implications discussed for practical application.

中文翻译：

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探索教育者人格对幼儿教育和保育环境中结构和过程质量的作用

鉴于 0 至 6 岁儿童在幼儿教育和保育 (ECEC) 环境中度过的大量时间，我们必须了解 ECEC 质量的驱动因素。教育者人格在幼儿保育环境质量中的作用很少受到研究人员的关注。本研究使用来自 240 个婴幼儿教室的 595 名教育工作者为样本，检验了 (1) 教育工作者个性对加拿大 ECEC 环境中关键质量指标的作用，(2) 迷你标记（一种常用的衡量标准）的因素有效性人格的特征，以及（3）是否存在基于人格特征的教育者亚组，使用潜在概况分析（LPA）。结果显示，幼儿教育工作者人格迷你标记测量的因素结构是可接受的。此外，个性与结构和过程质量指标呈正相关。具体而言，收入和课堂年限的结构指标与宜人性和外向性（分别为小效应和中效应）呈显着正相关。就过程质量而言，教育工作者的外向性水平与他们向儿童提供的响应性互动的质量存在积极且显着的关系（影响较小）。最后，LPA 揭示了不同的教育者人格类型，在课堂层面没有显着差异。这项研究强调了持续研究的必要性，以探索教育工作者的个性与幼儿保育质量之间的联系，并讨论了对实际应用的影响。