Objective: This study aimed to understand mothers' beliefs about infants and their practices. Methods: As a qualitative study, the participants were 11 mothers and their 18-24 month old infants. Data were collected through in-depth interviews and observations. Results: The participants' maternal beliefs about infants were contrasted in terms of infants' abilities and respect for infants. First, the mothers that perceived infants as competent beings, believed that infants can understand daily routine, communicate and empathize, and concentrate. On the contrary, the mothers that perceived infants as incapable beings, believed that infants lack the understanding of daily routine and the abilities of communication, empathy, and concentration. Second, the mothers that perceived infants as subjective beings, respected their infants, and their infants' opinions when making decisions. On the other hand, the mothers that perceived infants as objective beings, believed that infants should be led by adults and their opinions as not being very important. Third, their maternal beliefs were closely connected to their practices. Conclusion/Implications: Since maternal beliefs about infants turn out to be significant in mothers' thoughts and practices with their infants, it is necessary to figure out maternal beliefs about infants and support them to have more positive beliefs.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to understand the teacher's role as play supporter in a carry out play generated curriculum and develop and implement an action plan in order to indoor free play. Methods: Participants were 14 kindergartners (9 boys, 5 girls) and one teacher. Processes of planning-implementation and observation- reflection were repeated in a cyclical procedure and the 3rd action plan was conducted based on strategies to support children's play. Results: Children experienced the following: Continuing and immersive play, play filled with experiments and challenges, play to make together, attitude to enjoy novelty and respect differences, and play of trial and error. And the researcher changed the following: Be sensitive to the child's words and actions, finding the 'real interest' of children in 'waiting', acquiring the perception that 'children are the masters of play', seeing the value of learning in children's expressive play, and gain confidence in play support. Conclusion/Implications: This study suggested the need for teacher to have patience and demonstrate reflective thinking in order to support children's play.

Objective: This study aims to explore the experiences of women who take a career break while working in daycare center as a teacher assistant. Methods: Seven assistant teachers and two child care teachers who took more than two years of career break were selected and given in-depth interviews over 17 weeks from August to December in 2020. Results: The results of this study are as follows. First, the women experienced the need for a career transition as an assistant teacher because it was time to for a change. Second, while working as a teacher assistant, they had various experiences and meanings in the process of career transition while playing the role as a teacher in daycare centers. Third, they also had some difficulties in conflict and some needs to build their professional expertise as a teacher. Conclusion/Implications: The study is expected to give insights to understand the difficulties of teachers who had experienced the need for a career transition as teacher assistant and to provide important data to develop teacher professional development.

Objective: This study focused on the relationships between emotionality, social competence and play behavior in a sample of 218 4- to 5-year olds attending daycare centers. Methods: All variables were measured by the daycare teachers of the surveyed children. The data were analyzed using Simple Regression and Multiple Regression through SPSS Win 25.0. Results: First, preschoolers' positive emotionality had a negative effect on their play disruption and play disconnection and a positive effect on play interaction. On the other hand, their negative emotionality had a positive effect on play disruption and play disconnection and a negative effect on play interaction. Second, their positive emotionality had a positive influence on social competence and their negative emotionality had a negative influence. Finally, the effect of their positive emotionality on play disruption was partially mediated, and their play disconnection and play interaction was totally mediated by social competence. On the other hand, the effect of preschoolers' negative emotionality on play disruption and play disconnection was totally mediated, and their play interaction was partially mediated by social competence. Conclusion/Implications: The results of this study imply that we need to help preschoolers promote emotionality and social competence together to change their play behavior positively.

Objective: The purpose of this study is to examine the mediating effect of innovative culture in early childhood education institutions on the relationship between teachers' civic consciousness and actions for building a community in order to obtain methodological information for implementation at a time when the need to build an education community has been raised. Methods: The data were collected through 275 early childhood teachers working in kindergartens and daycare centers Then, descriptive statistics, correlation analysis, and regression were conducted. Results: All three variables civic consciousness, innovative culture, and actions for building a community showed a significant positive correlation. As a result of analyzing the mediating effect of innovation culture, it was found that the indirect effect of teachers' civic consciousness on the actions for building a community through the innovative culture was found to be statistically significant. Conclusion/Implications: This study was found that it is important to strengthen the teacher's civic consciousness and to create an innovative culture of early childhood education institutions in order to promote actions for building an educational community of teachers. This study is meaningful in that it provided implications for the direction of teacher education and formation of an innovative culture in early childhood education institutions for the purpose building an educational community.

Objective: The purposes of this research are to analyze former research papers regarding Dream Start according to academic field in an attempt to better understand their services and to present additional directions. Methods: The 66 research papers regarding Dream Start from 2008 to 2020 were analyzed by three categories: welfare, child care(education) and health. In each category, this research analyzed the research papers by year, research type, research subject and the research topic. Results: First, the research papers regarding Dream Start were most actively published between 2010 and 2017 and the number of research papers decreased after 2018. Second, the results regarding the type of study showed that quantitative studies were mostly performed in all, but the detailed methods used mainly differed. Third, the subjects of the study commonly included guardians. Fourth, the research topics were focused on business content, operations, and direction. Conclusion/Implications: Based on these results, welfare, child care(education) and health sectors need to make more efforts for balanced development, and integrated research and longitudinal studies are necessary. Second, further research is needed to enhance the professionalism of teachers and nurses working in the Dream Start. Third, more research is needed for the integration and coordination of resource management.

Objective: This research examines the understanding of the competencies required from the director of a childcare center. It also analyzes the characteristics of the capabilities of a director of a daycare center. The research questions are as follows: First, what are the competencies of a childcare center director? Second, what are the characteristics of the competencies of a childcare center director? Methods: In this study, the Q methodology was applied. First, the Q population was identified based on prior studies and through open questionnaires and in-depth interviews targeting 71 teachers and directors of childcare centers. Next, 40 Q samples were selected. Second, P samples were selected targeting the 30 directors, Q sort was conducted, and the data were analyzed using the QUANL program. Results: The main results of this study can be summarized as follows. First, four types of competencies were demanded from the director of a daycare center. Second, the competencies required from the director of a daycare center were accountability-centered, functional-management-centered, human-relationshipcentered, and rationality-centered capabilities. Conclusion/Implications: The policy-level of and educational ways to support the competencies of a director of a daycare center were discussed.