• Korean Journal of Childcare and Education
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• v.16 no.4
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• pp.111-133
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• 2020

Objective: The purpose of this study is to find out how teachers organize and operate early childhood classroom, as play areas. Methods: Four teachers who had been aware of importance of play and were motivated to form an early childhood classroom as a play area were selected as research participants. Semi-structured interview and participatory observations were conducted to collected data. Results: The findings of the study are as follows. First, in regard to the role of the early childhood classroom as a play space, teachers supported the play of children and wanted to organize and operate the classroom as a play space. Second, as, play space, the teachers wanted to construct the space according to their own perception with children. Conclusion/Implications: The conclusions of this study are as follows. First, the teachers attempted to create play space by recognizing the contradictions that the classroom had. Second, the teacher organized the classroom into a play area and allowed the children to transform and create the space in their own.

• Korean Journal of Child Studies
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• v.35 no.4
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• pp.263-279
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• 2014

The purpose of this paper is to explore the role of the variation of songs by teachers in early childhood classrooms where songs play an important role in managing the daily activities for young children. Early childhood teachers have demonstrated a high degree of competency to transform and modify a variety of songs that fit into children's developmental levels. The use of such songs enable both teachers and young learners to fully enjoy such classroom activities and are an important means for establishing rapport. The data were collected from direct observation and video recording in three early childhood classrooms, as well as through interviews with the teachers, and through the researcher's journals. The results of the study revealed that the teachers exhibit a high degree of professionalism in creating variations of the kind of songs that children seem to enjoy, and thereby creating high levels of classroom enjoyment generally. This study also showed that using a good variety of songs in early childhood classroom can facilitate understanding of the content in the curriculum Finally, this study also suggests that the teachers' skills in designing variations of songs can make early childhood education classrooms culturally attractive and aesthetically more creative.

• Korean Journal of Child Studies
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• v.28 no.3
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• pp.101-113
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• 2007

The present study investigated the print richness of early childhood classrooms and examined differences in classroom literacy environment by teacher demographics. The 117 participants were teachers of kindergartens and daycare centers. They responded to a 33-item questionnaire constructed by Wolfersberger et al.(2004). Questionnaire categories included literacy items pertaining to classroom environment and literacy items pertaining to teacher-student interactions. Major findings were that the classroom literacy environment was usually satisfactory. The age and career of teachers was the predictor of the classroom literacy environment, especially 'providing the classroom with literacy tools' and 'arranging literacy tools in the classroom space'.

• Korean Journal of Child Studies
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• v.33 no.3
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• pp.177-197
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• 2012

The purpose of this study is to discuss current problems and the directionality of multicultural education by examining the perceptions of teachers regarding the implementation of multicultural education and the actual practice of it within early childhood classroom. The study participants included a total of 7 teachers and 41 young children (3 children from multicultural families). Data were gathered by in-depth interviews with 7 teachers and non-participant observations in two classrooms. The results of our examination of teachers' perceptions of multicultural education were as follows. It is addressed only when there are children from multicultural families present in the classroom. Furthermore, it is only addressed in terms of specific life themes, and it requires external supporting instruction and resources because it is difficult to implement multicultural education by most teachers. The current practice of multicultural education is being addressed through an assimilative approach. It was also clear that teachers respond ambivalently to the issue of cultural particularity in children from multicultural families and use an individualized educational approach situated within the cultural deficit model. etc. Based on these results, the implications and limitations were also discussed.

• Korean Journal of Child Studies
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• v.18 no.1
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• pp.177-198
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• 1997

This study investigated the viewpoint of teachers on the desirability of computer education in the early childhood classroom. The subjects were 8 kindergarten teachers in Seoul and Kyong'gi Province who used computers in the classroom. Nondirective and open-ended interview methods were used for data collection. Five steps or stages of viewpoints were found: step1-teachers want to have computers in the classroom but have no particular purpose in mind; Step 2-teachers want the children to play with the computers as if it were a toy; Step 3-teachers want to use any programs that are in the computer; Step 4-teachers want to use the computer more purposefully for educational goals; Step 5-teachers want to unify the early childhood curriculum through the multi-media system.

• Journal of the Korean Home Economics Association
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• v.38 no.11
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• pp.151-164
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• 2000

This study was carried out to analyze video usage in early childhood programs. Two-hundred-ninety-four teachers in half-day and all-day early childhood programs responded to a questionnaire developed by a researcher. Descriptive analysis and chi-square tests were used to answer research questions. The findings were as follows: ① 78% of the programs had at least one video equipment and half of the programs had a video equipment in each classroom. ② Video usage in early childhood programs were differed by leacher’s age, career level, educational level, and type of early childhood programs as well as type of class management.

• Korean Journal of Child Studies
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• v.29 no.4
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• pp.147-166
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• 2008

This study investigated perceptions of early childhood teachers about children of Female International Marriage Migrants(FIMM) and their classroom conditions. Data was collected from 117 teachers of kindergartens and day care centers in Jeonnam Province using a 28-item inventory composed of classroom conditions and perceptions of teachers about the children of FIMM. Results showed that over 70% of teachers' students were children of FIMM. Children's traits included poor language skills, confusion of identity, and socio-emotional problems due to passive interaction with peers. Programs specifically for FIMM and their children are rare. Teachers considered difficulties teaching children of FIMM are due to lack of economic support, hardship of managing multicultural curriculum, restrictions in application of that curriculum, and institutional inertia.

• Human Ecology Research
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• v.54 no.3
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• pp.293-305
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• 2016

This study examines the mediation effect of teacher-child interactions in the process of the impact of teacher's teaching-efficacy on childhood education institutions and classroom environment on peer-play interactions. We used data from 970 children aged between 49 and 55 months and 970 homeroom teachers from the fifth Korean Child Panel (2012) of the Korea Institute of Child Care and Education. The model fitness was excellent after data were statistically analyzed with model of structure to testify the relationship and effect among teaching efficacy, classroom environment, teacher-child interactions, and peer-play interactions. First, the analysis also showed that the teacher's teaching efficacy did not influence peer-play interactions directly, but gave an indirect effect on the peer-play interactions with the mediation of the teacher-child interactions. Second, the classroom environment directly and indirectly influenced the peer-play interactions with the mediation of the teacher-child interactions. Third, the variable of teacher-child interactions was fully effective as a mediating variable in the process of the teaching efficacy and classroom environment influence on teacher-child interactions. Teaching efficacy and classroom environment influenced the peer-play interactions through the mediation of the teacher-child interactions. The significance of mediation effect of the teacher-child interactions was verified through a bootstrapping method.

• Journal of the Korean Home Economics Association
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• v.39 no.4
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• pp.35-47
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• 2001

The purposes of this article were to examine teacher's guidance over video utility and to investigate problems for video use in the classroom. Two-hundred-ninety-four teachers in half-day and all-day early childhood programs participated in this study. Descriptive analysis and chi-square tests were used. Results resealed that teacher's guidance before, during, and after video viewing was not carried out enough for the effectiveness of video teaming. The major problem for using a video in early childhood programs was insufficient video materials. These data were interpreted with respect to teachers'training practices and government policy.

• Korean Journal of Childcare and Education
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• v.12 no.4
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• pp.131-149
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• 2016

Teacher's practical knowledge is potentially relevant to the teaching practice in his/her classroom. The research explored early childhood teachers' practical knowledge of 'curriculum' via conceptual metaphors. The participants (N=348) completed a prompt, "Curriculum is like A because B" and then the metaphors were analyzed according to the procedure proposed by Moser (2000). The analysis found that 8 themes (i.e. 'educational basis', 'learning opportunity', 'educational material', 'difficulty', 'change', 'pre-determination', 'discordance', and 'reconstruction') were the underlying conceptions signified in those metaphors. The implications regarding early childhood teachers' practical knowledge were discussed on the perspective of post-modern curriculum. Moreover, it recommended the practical knowledge based approach for early childhood teacher education, and transformation of current policy for program evaluation relevant to curriculum conceptualization.