Exploring preschool teachers' professional profiles in Swedish preschool: a latent class analysis.

This article explores preschool teachers' professional profiles in Sweden. Considering various educational policy reforms in Sweden the last decades, this study is grounded in interactionist perspectives and Bronfenbrenner's bio-ecological model. A set of multiple professional indicators related to preschool teachers' educational background, personal characteristics and their working context were analysed applying latent class analysis as a person-oriented approach. The sample consists of 698 preschool teachers across different preschools in 46 municipalities in Sweden. The analysis revealed two subgroups of preschool teachers' professional profiles: (a) late educated (after the introduction of preschool curriculum in 1998) and (b) early educated (before the introduction of preschool curriculum in 1998). The pattern of graduation year, experience, continuous professional development and specified assignment in preschool was the most distinctive pattern across these profiles. Findings add to the ongoing debate on preschool teachers' professionalization suggesting an alternative analytic approach examining multiple indicators characterizing preschool teachers' professional profiles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]