Jin Hee Lee

DOI: Vol.22(No.1) 1-15, 2016

This study explored possibilities of Appreciative Inquiry (AI) in evaluating and improving quality of early childhood education and care in South Korea. An AI-based evaluation approach was developed and implemented in four child care centers and two kindergartens in an attempt to increase the utility of program evaluation and make meaningful changes in stakeholders` active participation and ownership of evaluation. The 4-I cycle-Inquire, Imagine, Innovate, Implement-of the evaluation approach was perceived by participating teachers as vitalizing and illuminating opportunities to share visions and make changes based on institutional strengths. Components for successful AI-based evaluations are suggested in pursuit of teachers` agency, reflection, collaboration, and promoting a constructive culture.

appreciative inquiry, program evaluation, early childhood education, child care

Jonghyun Lee

DOI: Vol.22(No.1) 17-38, 2016

Currently, most educators in Korea recognize that pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) is an important element of teachers` professionalism, and many studies of the factors that influence teachers` PCK have been conducted across education at all levels. PCK concerns how a teacher, based on his/her subject matter knowledge, transfers subject matter content to learners. In early childhood education in Korea, an integrated curriculum that combines two or more subjects is used. To implement this approach, most early childhood teachers seek to develop a range of pedagogical methods. However, it may be true that, in early childhood education (which emphasizes integrated, play-centered activities), teachers may have difficulty in acquiring sufficient depth of knowledge in each subject area. Therefore, one important task for early childhood teacher education is to help pre-service early childhood teachers establish the necessary foundation of knowledge. Early childhood teachers must have both subject matter knowledge and pedagogical knowledge in order to be successful. This article analyzes how three scholars, Dewey, Kilpatrick, and Bestor, addressed the issue of the relative roles of subject matter knowledge and pedagogical knowledge in teacher education. By analyzing the different positions of these three scholars, this article seeks to offer some insights that may help early childhood teacher education programs to prepare prospective early childhood teachers for success in their future professions.

pedagogy, subject matter knowledge, early childhood education, teacher education, Dewey

Jiwon Kim

DOI: Vol.22(No.1) 39-60, 2016

This study reviewed recent efforts to deconstruct developmental psychology in early childhood education, based on the postmodern or poststructural framework, in order to understand its role in the field of early childhood education. Specifically, this study aimed to deconstruct the role of developmentally appropriate practice (DAP) as the dominant discourse in early childhood education, and the subsequent marginalization of families and children from certain groups. Furthermore, this study examined the conceptualization of social competence in early childhood education. Drawing on the notion of social competence as a developmental construct, this study maintains that the assumptions of the standardized, universal description of children`s social behaviors may not fully capture their dynamic and flexible nature in everyday life, and thus more diverse perspectives should be taken into account when elucidating children`s social behaviors.

developmental psychology, DAP, social competence, postmodernism

Hong Ju Jun

DOI: Vol.22(No.1) 61-76, 2016

This study examined changes in the concepts of nation and citizenship as reflected in the National Kindergarten Curriculum documents of South Korea. It examined the seven curriculum revisions that occurred over a 44-year period (1969-2013) in response to national and global changes, focusing on how the concepts of nation and citizenship have been described in the curriculum`s educational goals and contents. This paper discusses the major curriculum strands that have defined national identity in the Korean context in terms of a sense of continuity and boundary. In its attempt to discuss the role of education in the process of constructing national identity as part of the large group consciousness, this study`s findings were consistent with previous literature, which has defined national identity not as a "thing," but as a construction, embodying the notions of change and continuity.

national identity, national kindergarten curriculum of South Korea, citizenship, nationalism

Hyunsu Kim

DOI: Vol.22(No.1) 77-104, 2016

This study explored how pre-service early childhood teachers` practical knowledge about classroom management strategies in teaching developed during field experience and the influence of classroom teachers on this development. Four pre-service early childhood teachers working in the field were chosen as participants. Data were collected through stimulated recall interviews, observation, and semistructured interviews. Data analysis revealed four management strategies that emerged through the development of the participants` practical knowledge: 1) initiating attention and interest at the start of a lesson time through riddles, 2) maintaining attention and interest throughout a lesson by encouraging active participation, 3) initiating and maintaining attention and interest throughout a lesson with imaginary play, and 4) invoking a positive behavioral response by assuming a stern/assertive expression. The influence of classroom teachers on the development of practical knowledge was also examined. These findings have particular implications on the teacher education programs of early childhood teachers.

field experience, early childhood teachers, practical knowledge, classroom management strategy, classroom teachers` influence

Hyojin Ahn

DOI: Vol.22(No.1) 105-119, 2016

The purpose of this study was to examine the mediating effect of social support on the relationship between the sense of psychological well-being of early childhood education teachers and their job stress. The data were collected through questionnaires administered to 176 Korean kindergarten teachers. The instruments used in this study were the Kindergarten Teachers` Job Stress Scale (4 factors, 34 items), Social Support Scale (4 factors, 24 items), and Psychological Well-Being Scale (6 factors, 48 items). The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, Pearson`s correlation analysis, multiple regression analysis, and Baron and Kenny`s method, using SPSS ver. 20.0 for Windows. This study followed the mediated effect model, and discovered the following: First, there was a moderately negative correlation between job stress and psychological well-being but the negative influence was statistically significant in path model 1. There was a moderately positive correlation between social support and psychological well-being. In path model 2, assessment support, one of the social support sub-scales, was statistically significant in the area of influence on psychological well-being. Second, there was a mediating effect of social support on job stress and psychological well-being in the regression model. These results will be of great avail to future studies on the improvement of early childhood education teachers` psychological well-being.

mediating effect, social support, psychological well-being, job stress, early childhood education teachers