• Korean Journal of Childcare and Education
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• v.16 no.4
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• pp.93-110
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• 2020

Objective: The purpose of this study was to explore the early childhood education teacher's ability to implement play-centered curriculum that is recognized by an early childhood education expert based on an analysis of focus group interviews. Methods: Two professors of early childhood education, two directors of daycare centers, and two early childhood education teachers participated in the focus group interview. The interview was conducted three times. The interviewed data were categorized and compared. Results: The action competence of the play-centered curriculum required for early childhood teachers were categorized into the following categories; comprehending play, recognizing play, and practicing child-centered play. Detailed factor competencies were required for understanding play, reflective thinking, reading play, recording play, playing like a child, and supporting play. Conclusion/Implications: For actualizing play-centered curriculum, early childhood education teachers needed to comprehend, recognize, and practice for child's play. Furthermore, we discussed the necessity and direction of teacher education to improve the teacher's action competence for play-centered curriculum.

• Korean Journal of Childcare and Education
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• v.10 no.6
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• pp.391-412
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• 2014

The Integrated Center for Early Childhood Education and Care established 595 centers in 2013 that are integrated kindergarten and nursery centers. The Japanese government revised the law for the Center for Early Childhood Education and Care in 2012 and published the standards for equipment, management, and curriculum for early childhood education and care in April 2014. Presently the standards for equipment and management for integrated centers for early childhood education and care is based on a higher level than kindergarten and nursery centers. Therefore, the quality of education and care that the kindergarten and nursery centers are currently providing can be expected to continue. However childhood education and care curriculum is excessively emphasized education. Because infants and toddlers of 0-5years are spending most of the day in integrated centers for early childhood education and care, the contents related to childcare should be strengthened.

• Korean Journal of Childcare and Education
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• v.14 no.6
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• pp.205-218
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• 2018

Objective: The purpose of this study is to explore and analyze the way pre-service early childhood teachers think about teacher happiness through metaphor analysis. Methods: A total of 225 pre-service teachers were selected from 4-year universities in the Gyeongnam area and open questionnaires were distributed to the participants. A total of 207 out of the 225 questionnaires were selected for the study. Results: First, based on psychological well-being, positive interpersonal relationship, self-acceptance, autonomy, environmental control, and life purpose were derived. Pre-service early childhood teachers typified teacher happiness into five types: positive interpersonal relationships, self-acceptance, autonomy, environmental control, and life purpose. Second, pre-service early childhood teachers perceived teacher happiness as positive. Third, pre-service early childhood teachers perceived interpersonal relationships, self-acceptance, and purpose of life as positive, while environmental control and autonomy were perceived as negative. Conclusion/Implications: The results of this study suggest that it is necessary to improve the quality of teachers' education and to develop a program to raise positive awareness of future early childhood teachers. These study results can also be used as basic data for high quality teacher education.

• Journal of dental hygiene science
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• v.13 no.2
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• pp.125-134
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• 2013

The purpose of this study was to compare between early childhood teachers and mothers in oral health knowledge, oral health care behavior, and perception of oral health education. The subjects in this study were 90 early childhood teachers who worked in all of kindergartens and child-care centers and 235 mothers who have young children (aged from 1 to 5) in 2 kindergartens and 2 childcare centers Y region. They completed questionnaires about oral health knowledges, oral health care behaviors, and perception of oral health education. The collected data was analyzed by descriptive statistics, $x^2$-test, and Fisher's exact test of SPSS WIN. The results were as follows: 1. There was not statistically significant difference between early childhood teacher's knowledge about oral health and mothers'. 2. There was statistically significant difference between early childhood teachers' oral health care behaviors for children and mothers' in prevention of cavity, keeping toothbrushes, guiding oral health behaviors, and check up at dentist's. 3. There was statistically significant difference between early childhood teachers' perception of interest and experience in oral health education and mothers'. Therefore, There was not difference between early childhood teacher's knowledge about oral health and mothers. But early childhood teachers more frequently carry out preventing of cavity, keeping toothbrushes, guiding oral health behavior to their children than mothers. Mothers were more interested in oral health than early childhood teachers. And Mothers wanted to be educated about children' oral care and early childhood teachers wanted to be educated about guidebook and media of oral health education.

• 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.

• Korean Journal of Childcare and Education
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• v.13 no.5
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• pp.65-91
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• 2017

Objective: This study aims to investigate early childhood teachers' perception of STEAM and suggest activation measures for STEAM according to teachers' background variables. Methods: The researchers conducted a pilot study, and then did survey research for 5 weeks. The participants of this study included 523 teachers of early childhood education institutions in Gwangju metropolitan city and Jeollanam-do Province. Results: The results of this study were as follows. First, early childhood teachers perceived the necessity of STEAM differently according to their age, experience, and academic background. The higher their age, experience, and academic background were, the more they wanted to participate in further teacher training and education. In particular, early childhood teachers' perception and activation measures were very different according to their workplace. These results come from the fact that the conditions in conducting STEAM are different according to their workplace. Conclusion/Implications: In order to activate STEAM, a teacher training program including practical contents and methods should be conducted. Also, it is necessary to carefully organize the content and structure of the teacher training program according to their workplace. This study is meaningful in terms of suggesting activation measures for STEAM by showing how early childhood teachers think about STEAM and what they demand.

• Korean Journal of Child Education & Care
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• v.18 no.3
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• pp.77-90
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• 2018

Objective: The objective of this study is to find out the relationship among early childhood teachers' social support, teacher efficacy, and resilience, and the effects of social support and teacher efficacy on early childhood teachers' resilience. Methods: The study was conducted with 282 teachers working in kindergartens and day care centers located in Jeollabukdo, The data were analyzed using Pearson's Product-Moment Correlation Analysis, and Stepwise Multiple Regression Analysis. Results: The results of this study are as follows. First, significant positive correlation appeared among early childhood teachers' resilience, social support, and teacher efficacy. The whole social support showed positive correlation in all sub-factors of resilience, and the whole teacher efficacy did positive correlation in all sub-factors of resilience. Second, according to the results of the study of the effects of social support and teacher efficacy on early childhood teachers' resilience, personal teacher efficacy, material support, and general teacher efficacy acted as significant factors in their whole resilience. Conclusion/Implications: In conclusion, this study suggests that improving resilience should be backed up by self-improvement of teachers who are able to upgrade teacher efficacy, and social support.

• Korean Journal of Childcare and Education
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• v.19 no.3
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• pp.41-57
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• 2023

Objective: The objective of this study is to classify the personality types of early childhood teachers and examine the variations in teacher self-efficacy and play support based on these personality types. Methods: The subjects of this study consisted of 302 early childhood teachers responsible for children aged 3 to 5 years old. The collected data were analyzed using cluster analysis and analysis of covariance. Results: Early childhood teachers were categorized into four types: the "sensitive group" (29%), the "conservative group" (10%), the "passive group" (28%), and the "active group" (34%). Significant differences in mean scores were observed for teacher self-efficacy and play support across these personality types. Notably, the active group demonstrated the highest levels of both teacher self-efficacy and play support. Consequently, the active group emerged as the most effective and functional personality type among early childhood teachers. Conclusion/Implications: This study emphasized the significance of early childhood teachers' personality types in their teaching practices, underscoring the importance of developing in-service and pre-service teacher education programs that take into account these personality types.

• Korean Journal of Childcare and Education
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• v.14 no.6
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• pp.35-51
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• 2018

Objective: The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of early childhood teacher-led child-centered group play therapy on young children's sociability. The changes of sociability in the therapeutic process were also examined. Methods: The subjects of this study were 12 young children who were five years old and attended a child care center in Gangwon-do. Subjects were divided into an experimental group and a control group. The experimental group received 15 early childhood teacher-led child-centered group play therapy sessions twice a week. The sociability scale was used for pre-post tests and the data were analyzed using SPSS 23.0. Every session was video-taped and recorded verbatim. Qualitative data were analyzed to examine changes in sociability. Results: Children who participated in the early childhood teacher-led child-centered group play therapy demonstrated significant improvement in sociability. During the therapy sessions, children's expressions and behaviors associated with sociability gradually increased. Conclusion/Implications: This study supports the use of early childhood teacher-led child-centered group play therapy as an effective intervention strategy for young children to improve their sociability.

• Journal of the Korean Home Economics Association
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• v.44 no.6 s.220
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• pp.15-22
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• 2006

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between early childhood teacher's knowledge and protective practice on safety. The study subjects were 312 early childhood teachers working at kindergartens and day care centers in Seoul, Kyung-gi area. A modified questionnaire was based on that developed by Nam(2002). Data were analysed by t-test, One-way ANOVA, and Pearson's correlations. The results were as follows. First, there was a small but insignificant difference for safety knowledge in the teachers' teaching experiences, and working place, but no difference in attending safety education. Second, there were differences for safety practices in teaching experiences and working place. Third, teachers' safety knowledge was highly and positively correlated with safety practices. In conclusion, enhanced early childhood teacher' safety knowledge is needed for improved safety practice.