• Korean Journal of Childcare and Education
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• v.13 no.6
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• pp.87-109
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• 2017

Objective: The purpose of this study is to examine the relationship between student teachers' perceptions on cooperating teacher's professionalism and motivation to become a teacher. Methods: The participants were 399 student teachers studying child care and education at two-year or four-year colleges in Seoul, Gyeonggi, Incheon, South Chungcheong, and Daejeon. They completed questionnaires on student teachers' perceptions on cooperating teacher's professionalism and motivation to become a teacher. The data were analyzed using ANOVA, t-test, and partial-correlation analyses. Results: There were three findings from this study. First, there was a significant difference in student teachers' perceptions on cooperating teacher's professionalism depending on the type of child care center and education system, rather than the type of class. Second, there was a significant difference in student teachers' motivation to become a teacher depending on the students' education system. Third, student teachers' perceptions on their cooperating teacher's professionalism correlated with their motivation to become a teacher. Conclusion/Implications: This study suggests that student teachers' perceptions on cooperating teacher's professionalism is significantly different depending on the type of child care center or educational system and is related with motivation to become a teacher.