• Korean Journal of Childcare and Education
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• v.17 no.6
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• pp.53-72
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• 2021

Objective: This study aimed to reveal early childhood teachers' perceptions of teacher competency for ESD using concept mapping and demonstrating its importance. Methods: 16 early childhood teachers in charge of 3-5 year olds conducted statement writing, and then the importance of selected statements were rated by 160 early childhood teachers in charge of 3-5 year olds. Selected statements were analyzed through multidimensional scaling and hierarchical cluster analysis. Results: Early childhood teachers perceived teacher competency for ESD in early childhood as concept mapping with two-dimensions and six clusters. The following six clusters were established (1) ethics for sustainable development, (2) willingness to participate in ESD, (3) development and operation of a sustainable development curriculum, (4) recognition and practice of environmental issues, (5) realization of value for sustainable development, and (6) practical thinking for ESD. And then among the six clusters, the most important cluster was recognized as 'ethics for sustainable development', and among the statements 'having an open mind to understand multiculturalism and the disabled' was considered relatively important Conclusion/Implications: Based on these results, we discussed the importance of teacher competency for ESD in early childhood, development of teacher competency scale, and preparation of a teacher education plans for each competency.

• Korean Journal of Childcare and Education
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• v.18 no.2
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• pp.19-38
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• 2022

Objective: The goal of this study is to develop an instrument for measuring the quality of teacher support for children's play (age 3-5) based on the Play Practice Resources for Teachers presented in the 2019 revised Nuri Curriculum. Methods: The subjects of this study were 333 early childhood educators. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis, as well as correlation analysis were all performed to confirm construct validity and concurrent validity. The reliability of each factor was verified using Cronbach's alpha. Results: The Preschool Teacher Play Support Scale (PTPSS) was finalized with 25 items, which included the following four sub-factors: interaction, play materials, play space, and play safety. The concurrent validity was also confirmed through significant correlations between the existing measures such as the Teacher Self-Efficacy Scale, the Teaching Efficacy Scale for Play, and the Teacher-Toddler Interaction Scale. The reliability of each factor was also desirable. Conclusion/Implications: The PTPSS was verified as a sound measure quantifying the play support behavior of teachers who respect the autonomy and initiative of young children which is being pursued by the 2019 revised Nuri Curriculum.

• Korean Journal of Childcare and Education
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• v.18 no.2
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• pp.57-84
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• 2022

Objective: The purpose of this study is to examine the perceptions of early childhood educators about the role of middle managers in daycare centers. Methods: A survey was conducted with 254 educators including directors, middle managers, and teachers working at daycare centers located in Jeonbuk. An interview was then conducted with 18 educators working at six different centers. IPA for the survey and thematic analysis were performed for the interview contents. Results: The results show that all the participants perceived that communication among managers, daycare staff, and related organizations should be improved most urgently; in the interview, middle managers as a solver of the uncomfortable relationship between directors and teachers and as a linker between generations were emphasized. Also, the directors and middle managers recognized that the skills to have as middle managers needed to be improved most urgently, and the teachers recognized nothing needed to be improved urgently. Different emphasis for the need of supports for environment and systems was made in the interview by each position. Conclusion/Implications: The study discussed the necessity of the official position of middle managers in a daycare center to promote the professionalism of early childhood educators.

• Korean Journal of Childcare and Education
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• v.9 no.5
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• pp.251-276
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• 2013

This study was performed in order to examine the effects of one to one interactive picture book reading on infants' reading response and teachers' language teaching efficacy. A total of 50 2-year-olds from 8 child care centers in Incheon were divided into an experimental group and a control group. The interactive picture book reading activities were carried out once a week during 12 weeks. The infants in the experimental group read one-to-one with teachers, and their counterparts read the same book in a group. The change in teachers' language teaching efficacy was examined, and their subjective perception was evaluated through in-depth interview. As a result of this research, the infants in the experimental group showed significantly increased verbal response, compared to the control group, both in the total score and most sub-factors such as naming, responding, asking, demanding, spontaneous utterance, and decontextualized utterance. They also represented a significant rise, compared to the control group, in the total score of non-verbal response and factors like finger indicating, imitating, and accepting. Finally, the teachers who led the experimental group showed increased language teaching efficacy, and evaluated the effects of interactive picture book reading with infants very positively.

• Korean Journal of Child Education & Care
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• v.19 no.2
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• pp.71-84
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• 2019

Objective: This study examined the how childcare teachers' happiness and self-leadership influences on respect for young children's rights. Methods: For this purpose, 350 childcare teachers in G city were surveyed. Data of 291 copies as final research subjects were analyzed through one-way ANOVA and hierarchical regression analysis. Results: First, external and self-regulating happiness sub-factors of happiness, differed according to the academic background. Behavioral and cognitive strategies, the sub-factors of self-leadership, differed according to the academic background and career. The right to life, right to protection, development rights, and participation rights, which are sub-factors of respect for young children's rights, differed according to the academic background and career, and the development rights differed depending on the type of childcare center. Second, there was a significant positive correlation among the happiness, self-leadership and respect for young children's rights. Third, the happiness and self-leadership of childcare teachers have a significant effect on the respect of young children's rights. Conclusion/Implications: This study is to confirm the necessity of efforts for institutional and educational measures to promote the happiness and self-leadership of childcare teachers as part of efforts to raise childcare teachers who are highly aware of the need to respect young children's rights.

• Korean Journal of Childcare and Education
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• v.17 no.6
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• pp.1-14
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• 2021

Objective: The purpose of this study was to classify early childhood educators' perfectionism types and to identify differences in teacher self-efficacy and teachers burnout according to the types of perfectionism. Methods: The participants of this study were 309 teachers working at early childhood education centers in Seoul, Gyeonggi-do, Daejeon, Se-jong, Kim-Cheon, and Hong-Sung, South Korea. Early childhood educators were surveyed regarding perfectionism, teacher self-efficacy and teacher burnout. The collected data were analyzed using K-means cluster analyses and analysis of covariance. Results: Cluster analyses with self-oriented perfectionism and other-oriented perfectionism as cluster variables resulted in three types of perfectionism among early childhood educators; 'self-other directed perfectionism(33.0%)', 'other directed perfectionism(35.0%)' and 'non perfectionism(32.0%)'. Educators with self-other directed perfectionism reported higher teacher self-efficacy and lower teacher burnout than educators with other directed perfectionism or with non perfectionism. Conclusion/Implications: Early childhood educators' perfectionism may be a significant personality trait linked to quality of education and care in real education settings.

• Journal of the Korean Dietetic Association
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• v.23 no.4
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• pp.384-396
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• 2017

School gardens are known to be effective for increasing vegetable consumption in children. This study was carried out to examine the perception of garden program leaders for actual conditions and barriers to promote school gardens according to their sense of dedication. The 49 garden program leaders at schools and child care centers in Pocheon city were surveyed and grouped into two groups: dedicated (57.1%) and less dedicated (42.9%) as program leaders. Compared to dedicated leaders, leaders in the less dedicated group less advocated promotion of school gardens (P<0.001) and were less willing to attend training for school garden (P<0.01), despite less experience as program leaders (P<0.01) and past training (P<0.05). Moreover, leaders in the less dedicated group less acknowledged the educational results of school garden in every aspect (P<0.001, respectively), less perceived support from parents and colleagues (P<0.05, respectively), and less used garden produce in more active activities such as donation and literature (P<0.05, respectively), compared to the dedicated group. The most answered barrier against the promotion of school gardens was work burden, followed by manpower shortage, shortage of technique, knowledge, and information, and time shortage. The results of this study provide evidence that developing strategies is needed to make more teachers and child care providers more dedicated as garden program leaders.

• Korean Journal of Childcare and Education
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• v.11 no.1
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• pp.269-287
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• 2015

The purpose of this study was to survey collaborate learning in early childhood settings in Korea. Specifically, the study examined whether the realities of and the teachers' perception on collaborative learning would differ in terms of the teachers' belief on constructivism. To achieve this purpose, 210 teachers of kindergartens and daycare centers in Busan completed a questionnaire developed by the authors. The teachers' belief on constructivism was rated as high, medium, and low. The ${\chi}^2$-test, one-way analysis of variance, and the Scheffe test were used to analyze the teachers' interest on and practice level of collaborate learning. As a result of this analysis, the authors observed several significant differences in the realities of and the teachers' perception on collaborative learning in terms of the teachers' belief on constructivism. We discussed the results and provided practical implications for teacher training.

• Korean Journal of Childcare and Education
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• v.10 no.1
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• pp.59-79
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• 2014

The purpose of this study was to make an analysis of the conceptual diagrams of early childhood teachers about education for happiness in an effort to suggest the possibility and guidelines of this education. The subjects in this study were 100 teachers at kindergartens and daycare centers located in the city of Busan and South Gyeongsang Province. Out of them, 50 teachers each were selected from the kindergartens and the daycare centers. The conceptual diagrams drawn up by the early childhood teachers were analyzed to find out the numbers of superordinate concept, the number of content element, characteristics, hierarchy and density. The findings of the study were as follows: First, as for the content of education for happiness, superordinate concepts appeared 364 times in the conceptual diagrams of the kindergarten teachers, and there were 21 superordinate concepts overall in their diagrams. Second, concerning the content of education for happiness, superordinate concepts appeared 296 times in the conceptual diagrams of the daycare center teachers, and there were 18 superordinate concepts in total. The findings of the study showed that the kindergarten teachers had a better knowledge on the concept of education for happiness than the daycare center teachers, and that there was a difference between the two groups in what they considered valuable in relation to the content of education for happiness.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.16 no.7
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• pp.4559-4565
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• 2015

The purpose of this study is to investigate the relationship between teacher's self-efficacy and teacher's leadership in kindergartens and child care centers. The subjects are 215 teachers employed in kindergartens or child care centers in Chungnam & Daejeon Metropolitan City. Questionnaires, which required self-reporting by teachers, are used to investigate teacher's self-efficacy and teacher's leadership. The data are analyzed by frequency, percent, Pearson's correlation and stepwise regression. The results of this study are as follow. First, teacher's self-efficacy is positively associated with teacher's leadership. Second, teacher's self-efficacy affect teacher's leadership.