Yeon Seung Lee

DOI: Vol.16(No.1) 5-6, 2010

Kyee Yum Kwon

DOI: Vol.16(No.1) 7-30, 2010

Since beliefs play a critical role in defining tasks, selecting strategies, and taking actions, the research on teacher beliefs and practice has brought many meaningful implications for teacher education. Reviewing research on early childhood teacher beliefs and practice, which has been mainly published in the U. S. within the past two decades or so, this article aims to explicate the general flow and issues in the limited body of literature. It covers four strands of research; (1) early childhood teachers` beliefs and practices regarding constructivism and/or child-centered approaches, (2) research on developmentally appropriate practice, (3) early childhood teachers` classroom management related perspectives and practices, and (4) predictable/influential factors of beliefs and practices. Then, the article outlines some concerns that have emerged from the review.

Teacher Beliefs and Practice, Child-centeredness, Constructivism, Developmentally Appropriate Practice, Classroom Management

Ka Youn Chung

DOI: Vol.16(No.1) 31-52, 2010

This study explores Korean parents` narratives and practices for their children`s English education through the theoretical lens of “figured worlds” (Holland, Skinner, Lachicotte, and Cain, 1998). Figured worlds, collectively shared sets of ideologies and practices among members of a group, help to analyze the practice from the participant`s perspective. The study focuses on Korean temporary migrant families with 3- to 8-year-old children who have already arrived in the United States. From 2003 to 2006, I conducted an ethnographic study of Korean international families in a university town in the Midwest. I investigated what motivates parents to implement this extreme practice of English education, that is, migration. The analysis discloses the parents have somewhat exaggerated beliefs on effectiveness of English education for their children. Those beliefs have been justified and intensified through their shared narrative in the figured worlds of globalization and cosmopolitanism. The parents also construct this narrative by psychologically interacting with their past experience and present situation.

English education, Migration, Figured worlds

Ki Sook Lee , Soon Hwan Kim

DOI: Vol.16(No.1) 53-76, 2010

The aim of this study is to examine young children`s language ability (vocabulary) based on their age and gender, and the socio-economic factors of family income and parent`s educational background. In addition, by examining the differences in the literacy environment at home due to family income, it explores the direction for the literacy environment provided at home and aims to find the direction for fully developing young children`s vocabulary. This research is targeted towards 1,624 children aged three, four and five, attending 19 kindergartens and 25 childcare centers (44 early childhood educational institutions in total) located in Seoul and metropolitan areas, as well as their 1,624 mothers. The findings of this research according to the research questions are as follows. The language ability (vocabulary) score varied depending on the young children`s gender, while female children were found to have significantly higher scores than males. Discrepancies were found in young children`s language ability (vocabulary) scores based on age. Young children`s language ability varied according to family income. Young children from high-income families scored higher than those from low-income families. Having examined the discrepancies by age, three, four, and five year olds from high-income families were shown to score higher. However, such a discrepancy showed the biggest gap at age three and there was a tendency for the gap to narrow at ages four and five.

Language ability, vocabulary, Family Income, Literacy Environment

Kyoung Jin Kim

DOI: Vol.16(No.1) 77-91, 2010

The purpose of this paper was to listen to the voices of parents as they discussed how they view a good early childhood program using large scale survey. Exploring the characteristics-that is, the ecologies-of the different programs they had chosen is important to understanding how parents perceive good programs. Both similarities and differences were found both within and across parents at different program types. The multiple layers of both similarities and differences across parents suggest that their values and beliefs can account for their perceptions of what constitutes a good program among the many early childhood programs available. The research suggests that as programs have different purposes, more attention to context-specific local desires is needed.

Parents` Perceptions of Quality Programs, Ecology, Early Childhood Programs

Min Kyung Han

DOI: Vol.16(No.1) 93-117, 2010

This study uses the qualitative case study method to research how three early childhood preservice teachers interacted with their cooperating teachers and how their relationships influenced the preservice teachers` development of autonomy. This information may help teacher educators and cooperating teachers support preservice teachers` reflections on learning and teaching. Moreover, it is helpful for preservice teachers to reflect on their autonomy in conducting intern teaching as well as teacher education classroom courses. From the findings, it was found that in three cases Christiana, Lucy, and Judy were influenced by their interaction with their cooperating teachers in the context of student teaching internships. For Christina, trust and open communication between intern teacher and cooperating teacher played an important role in supporting her autonomy in learning and teaching. For Lucy, mutual respect and trust between her cooperating teachers supported her ability to understand issues and take responsibility to solve them on her own. Lastly, for Judy, the communication styles with the preserivce teacher and her cooperating teachers influenced the promotion of the preservice teachers` self-motivated construction of personal practical theories of learning and teaching. These findings were discussed on the basis of previous research and theoretical frameworks.

Relationship with Cooperating Teachers, Trust & Open Communication, Autonomy of Preservice Teachers

Seung Hee Kim

DOI: Vol.16(No.1) 119-142, 2010

This qualitative research project, based on the theoretical orientation of critical theory and postmodernism, aims to investigate barriers to and facilitators of effective teacher-child interactions in voluntary pre-kindergarten programs in child care settings. Participants were three teachers who were teaching children in Florida`s voluntary pre-kindergarten (VPK) classrooms in child care settings. In-depth interviews and three observations of classrooms during whole-group, free-play, and meal time were conducted per teacher. By suggesting different strategies to facilitate effective teacher-child interactions, this study helps teachers to be aware of the nature of teacher-child interactions and to find ways to overcome several barriers to effective teacher-child interactions in voluntary pre-kindergarten programs in child care settings.

Teacher-Child Interaction, Voluntary Pre-Kindergarten Program, Child Care Setting, Critical Theory, Postmodernism

Young Ae Lee

DOI: Vol.16(No.1) 143-157, 2010

This study was designed to investigate active music listening as well as the creative integration of music and art. The main concern of this study was to examine the effect of a visual stimulus on attentive music listening, to determine whether it helps children sustain attentive music listening, and to see how it affects children`s drawing. Participants (N = 50) in this study were students in two classes at one public kindergarten in Seoul, South Korea. The sample population was comprised of 27 children who were age 5 and 23 children who were age 4. Students came from middle and low socioeconomic backgrounds. Children were observed during regular music class for 5 weeks, once each week. A visual stimulus while listening to the music improved children`s attentive listening and did not limit children`s drawing patterns as previous findings had suggested. The age 4 group`s pictures represented a more similar drawing pattern to the researcher`s model than did those of the age 5 group. Visual aids may be an effective tool to enhance children`s attentive music listening during an activity but should be applied judiciously with children 4 years of age and younger.

Music Appreciation, Attentive Music Listening, Visual Stimulus, Creativity

Kyung Hwa Lee , Jong Il Yuh

DOI: Vol.16(No.1) 159-172, 2010

Personal intelligence in young children has been an important issue in early childhood education for decades, yet there is a dearth of empirical programs to foster personal intelligence in young children. This study describes an educational program to improve personal intelligence, in which 20 young children in Korea were randomly assigned to an experimental group or a control group in the quasi-experimental design. The children`s personal intelligence was assessed using the Multiple Intelligence (MI) Test for the pretest and posttest. The experimental group, which was engaged in a 10-session educational program, demonstrated significant improvement in multiple intelligence scores compared to the control group. The instructional activities of the multiple intelligence program improved both intrapersonal intelligence and interpersonal intelligence because the program was appropriately based on each young child`s intelligence level. Findings suggest that the multiple intelligence program with a focus on instructional activities is an effective educational program to improve interpersonal and intrapersonal intelligence for these young children.

Personal Intelligence Program, Interpersonal Intelligence, Intrapersonal Intelligence, Multiple Intelligenc, MI, test