• Korean Journal of Childcare and Education
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• v.19 no.3
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• pp.41-57
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• 2023

Objective: The objective of this study is to classify the personality types of early childhood teachers and examine the variations in teacher self-efficacy and play support based on these personality types. Methods: The subjects of this study consisted of 302 early childhood teachers responsible for children aged 3 to 5 years old. The collected data were analyzed using cluster analysis and analysis of covariance. Results: Early childhood teachers were categorized into four types: the "sensitive group" (29%), the "conservative group" (10%), the "passive group" (28%), and the "active group" (34%). Significant differences in mean scores were observed for teacher self-efficacy and play support across these personality types. Notably, the active group demonstrated the highest levels of both teacher self-efficacy and play support. Consequently, the active group emerged as the most effective and functional personality type among early childhood teachers. Conclusion/Implications: This study emphasized the significance of early childhood teachers' personality types in their teaching practices, underscoring the importance of developing in-service and pre-service teacher education programs that take into account these personality types.

• Human Ecology Research
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• v.52 no.1
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• pp.63-73
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• 2014

The purpose of this study is to investigate early childhood student teachers' practicum anxiety on the basis of the teacher's image and self-efficacy during their practicum. The participants of this study were 499 student teachers who were enrolled in the department of early childhood education in a college or a university and had completed the practicum in Daejeon metropolitan city or the Chungcheong area. The instruments for this study were the Teacher's Image Scale, Practicum Anxiety Scale, Self-efficacy Scale, and a questionnaire for socio-demographic variables. The collected data were analyzed by using a t -test, F test, Pearson's partial correlation, and multiple regression with SPSS software (version 20.0). The results were as follows: First, the student teachers expressed higher practicum anxiety in a provincial area than in metropolitan city, and their self-efficacy was higher in public kindergarten than in private kindergarten. Further, the highest level of the teacher's image was obtained in the case of student teachers who enrolled in a 2- or 3-year college program and completed the practicum in the metropolitan city. Second, there was a significant negative correlation between the sum of student teachers' practicum anxiety and their professional skills of teacher's image as well as significant correlations between the sum of student teachers' practicum anxiety and their self-efficacy, except self-control efficacy. Finally, the student teachers' practicum anxiety was found to be 17.5%-24.4% and was explained the most by the confidence of self-efficacy.