Objective: A teacher learning community was developed in order to implement a play-centered curriculum at a child care center, and teachers' experiences during the process were explored. Methods: The teacher learning community was carried out for a total of 23 sessions. One researcher and six teachers participated in this study. Data including the transcripts of recordings of the teacher learning community, transcripts of individual teachers' interview recordings, teachers' reflective journals, and social media posts were collected. Data were analyzed according to the qualitative data analysis procedure. Results: The teachers recognized their experiences of the teacher learning community as follows: (1) encouraging and empowering each other to find a way together, (2) self-reflection, communication and sharing with experiences, (3) becoming a teacher who practices change. Conclusion/Implications: The results of this study show the importance and effectiveness of managing the teacher learning community in a way that teachers interact with each other in a collaborative manner within the community based on initiative and spontaneity, and to provide help to each other in the process of understanding and practicing the play-centered curriculum. The teacher learning community supports the professionalism of teachers for the practice of a play-centered curriculum.

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.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to investigate the influence of perceived supervisor's servant leadership and teacher self-efficacy for positive teacher-child relationships on work engagement using the path model. Methods: The subjects were 210 teachers working at childcare centers in Daegu and Gyeongbuk Province. Questionnaires were used to investigate perceived supervisor's servant leadership, teacher self-efficacy for positive teacher-child relationships, and work engagement. The collected data were analyzed by Structural Equation Modeling(SEM), Bootstrapping, Pearson Correlation, AMOS 20.0, and SPSS 21.0. Results: First, supervisor's servant leadership had a positive influence on teacher self-efficacy for positive teacher-child relationships. Second, teacher self-efficacy for positive teacher-child relationships had a positive influence on work engagement. Third, supervisor's servant leadership had a positive influence on teacher's work engagement. Fourth, supervisor's servant leadership had an indirec effect on teacher's work engagement by teacher self-efficacy for positive teacher-child relationships. Conclusion/Implications: The results mean teacher self-efficacy for positive teacher-child relationships had more influence on teacher's work engagement. Therefore, it is more useful to promote teacher self-efficacy for positive teacher-child relationships in order to strengthen teacher's work engagement.

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.

Objective: This study examined five- to six-year-old children's categorization of mixed-race faces and how it was affected by perceptual individuation training (PIT) for other-races. Methods: Sixty-five children attending classes for 5-year-olds in childcare centers were shown happy and angry faces of Korean and African American mixed-race people, along with neutral faces of Korean and African American monoracial people. They were asked to categorize the faces into same-race or other-race. After the pretest, participants received a PIT for either African American (other-race) or monkeys. Then the racial categorization task was administered again as a posttest. Results: Children showed no general tendency to categorize mixed-race faces as out-group in the pretest. Yet, the PITs further reduced children's categorization of mixed-race faces as out-group. In particular, the effect was clearly evident in children who received the PIT for other-race. Conclusion/Implications: The results suggest that the tendency to categorize mixed-race faces as an out-group may not be evident in early childhood and that experiences of perceptually identifying other-race individuals may help children view mixed-race individuals as being in the ingroup, at least perceptually.

Objective: This study investigated the double mediating effects of maternal and paternal parenting stress and the regularity of children's daily routines in the association between maternal and paternal parenting time and children's self-regulation. Methods: A total of 235 preschool children aged 4-5 years and their mothers and fathers participated in the study. Parenting time, parenting stress, and children's self-regulation were assessed using both mothers' and fathers' reports, but the regularity of daily routines was assessed using mothers' reports only. The data was analyzed using SEM in Mplus 8.2. Results: Mothers' and fathers' parenting stress appeared to have cross-spousal mediated effects of their parenting time on children's self-regulation. Higher levels of mothers' and fathers' parenting time predicted higher levels of children's self-regulation through only a lower level of mothers' parenting stress and a higher level of the regularity of daily routines. Conclusion/Implications: Findings indicated that parents' parenting time played a significant protective factor in reducing parenting stress and increasing the regularity of daily routines among family members. This cross-spousal influence on parenting process can inform the development of prevention programs and parenting education to promote self-regulation skills among preschool children.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to suggest institutional improvements and support measures for the opening process of new entrusted public daycare centers by exploring the experiences of the directors of daycare centers. Methods: In-depth interviews were held with nine directors of daycare centers in Sejong City. The recordings of the interviews were databased, and then the data were analyzed by categorizing the content. Results: First, the participants of this study were interested in the national/public daycare service consignment program and were eager to be selected for the program. They also had high expectations for operating daycare centers. Second, while preparing for the opening of the daycare center, the participants encountered problems after being selected for the program in terms of finance, facilities, equipment, and personnel management. Third, after opening the center, the participants went through the "survival period" as they had to overcome many issues while operating the center on their own. Conclusion/Implications: This study suggested financial and administrative improvements and support measures required for the consignment program so that daycare center directors can successfully and sustainably open and operate daycare centers.