• Korean Journal of Childcare and Education
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• v.11 no.2
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• pp.87-108
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• 2015

The purpose of this study was to investigate the difference in Korean 4-year-olds' cognitive development depending on variables concerning ecological system variables, predictive influences among these variables, and different predictive patterns between working mothers and non-working mothers. The subjects consisted of 998 4-year-olds, derived from the Korean Child Panel data of 2012. The results were as follows: First, 4-year-olds' cognitive development was different depending on their sex, education level of mother and father, mothers' working status, quality of home environment, and mothers' involvement in children's life in their institution. Second, mothers' involvement in children's life in their institution, children's sex, quality of home environment, and mothers' working status predicted 4-year-olds' cognitive development. Third, there was a different pattern of predictive influence among variables according to the mothers' working status. The mothers' involvement in their children's lives in their institution and children's sex was proved to be important in both, but that was more significant in working mothers, and the quality of home environment predicted cognitive development only in working mothers. These results were discussed in terms of necessity of the Korean national policy to support young children's cognitive development efficiently, especially for working mothers.