Hey Jun Ahn

DOI: Vol.18(No.1) 5-21, 2012

The growing number of children from multicultural families challenges teachers who have these children in their classrooms. In an effort to educate children of multicultural family, the importance of parent involvement in the education of their children is an issue that has gained much attention over the years. The increasingly diverse student population calls for additional exploration of supporting connections to facilitate learning process of the children from multicultural families. Although research is beginning to investigate the education of children in multicultural families, there remains a lack of research efforts on parent involvement focusing on multicultural family. The purpose of this paper is to review perspectives of parent involvement, benefits of parent involvements as well as barriers to parent involvement, and involvement for multicultural parents in order to understand meaning of parent involvement in the context of multicultural education and to set up direction for future study. This article will provide some suggestions for new practices that will effectively support the education of these children.

Parent involvement, multicultural family

Youn Joo Jang , Jin Lee , Yeon Seung Lee

DOI: Vol.18(No.1) 23-38, 2012

The purpose of this study is to clarify the key factors which influence parents` school choice for their children. This study explored three things: (1) What components of quality in early childhood education parents identify as key factors and indicators of a good program, (2) how parents prioritize these factors and indicators, and (3) whether there is any difference between parents` perception and actual school choice, To identify the components of quality in early childhood education and to evaluate the relative importance among the components, the analytic hierarchy process (AHP) survey was conducted with 57 parents, The findings of this study indicate that the components of structural quality influence parents school choice for their children more significantly than the components of process quality. Among structural quality factors, parents placed group size (student:teacher ratio), physical environment, curriculum, and teacher quality in the order of relative priority. Among process quality factors, parents weighed children`s experiences more than teacher`s behaviors. The findings also show that there is a discrepancy between parents` perception and actual school choice. Limitations of the study and suggestions for future study are discussed.

Parents` school choice for their children, key factors of a good program, structure quality, process quality, analytic hierarchy process, AHP

Jong Baeg Kim , Eun Young Yoo

DOI: Vol.18(No.1) 39-52, 2012

South Korea is a country affected by low fertility rates. The purpose of this study is to investigate if employment status of married women or other factors influence the intention of having a second child. One assumes that socio-cultural pressure exists for married couples to have at least one child but the decision whether to have a second child is personal preference. In determination of this personal preference, many variables are taken into consideration; social variables such as household incomes and husband employment status, cultural variables like parents instrumental value, and the expected gender of the second child. Because work life plays a large role in Korean society, parenting support variables are also taken into consideration, measured as the husbands level of participation in child rearing and their workplace parenting support system. Panel data from the Korea Institute of Child Care and Education in 2008 were analyzed using the logistic regression method. This data-set was limited to 677 parents currently having their first and only child. The data-set reveals that when faced with the high costs associated with rearing a second child, instability of husbands employment, or low expectation of the second childs gender-intention of subsequent births is markedly lower. In particular, unemployed women are prone to make a decision based on their economic status. It indicates that the Korean government should take differentiated intervention between employed and unemployed married women to overcome the low child birth rate.

Low child birth rate, socioeconomic and psychological variables, employment status of married women

Hyun Jin Kim , Hoe Wook Chung

DOI: Vol.18(No.1) 53-72, 2012

This study examined whether preservice teachers` expectations of reality shock during their first year of professional teaching differs by program type and their status in the program. A total of 292 preservice teachers enrolled in the early childhood education and elementary education program at a state university in the Midwestern United States were included in this study. To gauge preservice teachers` expectation of reality shock, an instrument with five latent constructs was developed: self-confidence, professional training, workload, career choice, and role complexity. Model-fit indices from confirmatory factor analysis showed a good fit between the five-dimension theorization of our model and the observed data. The results showed that the early childhood preservice teachers` expectations of reality shock experience were differentiated only by their status in the program. We discussed educational implications in lieu of preservice teachers` sense of efficacy and reality-shock challenge in order to keep novice teachers from leaving the teaching profession.

Preservice teachers, reality shock, teaching expectation, early childhood education, elementary education

Ramazan Sak , Fatma Tezel Sahin

DOI: Vol.18(No.1) 73-93, 2012

This research examined the thoughts of male preschool teachers about the situations they encountered at the start of their careers. The participants of the study consisted of 106 male preschool teachers in Turkey. A questionnaire with 52 questions and 5 scales was used as the data collecting tool. Responses given to items by male preschool teachers have revealed significant differences according to the teachers ages and occupational seniority, Results of the study showed that male preschool teachers between 27 and 32 years old encountered more negative situations at the start of their careers than those in the age 22-26 group, They included parents unawareness of male preschool teachers presence, negative reactions of school administration and other teachers, not being treated as a teacher by the children, and general social prejudice considering ``men`` unfit for that job. It has also been found that male preschool teachers with more than three years experience encountered more negative situations at the start of their careers when compared to those with less than two years experience.

Preschool education, male preschool teacher, age and occupational seniority

Yoon H Lee , Yoo Seon Bang

DOI: Vol.18(No.1) 95-119, 2012

This study examined how multicultural parents, including marriage migrants, North Korean refugees, and immigrant laborers, perceive their childrens education and their participation in the South Korean early childhood educational system. The findings showed that the parents were particularly concerned about their childrens possible problems related to peer interaction and bullying, They additionally believedthat South Korean mothers biased thinking toward multicultural people have caused their children to have biased attitudes against multicultural peers. Due to the concern, some parents even hid their childs cultural and ethnicalbackground in the school. The parents also argued that South Korean educators often insist on ``our`` or ``South Korean`` ways to the parents and thus often encountered difficulties dealing with the school system. This implies the need for South Korean educators to reflect critically on their current practices and provide more transformative approaches of multicultural education to develop students and parents understanding of diversity.

Multicultural education, multicultural curriculum transformation, early childhood education, parent perception

Yoon Se Hwang

DOI: Vol.18(No.1) 121-134, 2012

Metacognition is an important theme in young children`s development. This study investigates the effect of a Verbal Plan and Evaluation (VPE) Program using portfolios on metacognition in children. Test results were analyzed by ANCOVA with a pretest serving as the covariate. The program included 40 five-year-old children: 20 comprised the experimental group and 20 the control group, The experimental group participated in a proposed VPE Program using portfolios, while the control group participated in the Korean National Kindergarten Curriculum, The procedure for this study consisted of a pretest, an input (applying) VPE Program using portfolios, and a posttest. The ANCOVA results show significant overall differences between the two groups. Based on these results, this study discusses the efficacy of developing and applying a VPE Program using portfolios for the early childhood education field.

Metacognition, portfolio, free choice activity, play assessment