Jin-hee Lee , Sun-myung Choi

DOI: Vol.23(No.2) 1-21, 2017

This study aimed at illuminating how practitioners in a child-care center experienced an evaluation approach based on Appreciative-Inquiry (AI) and engaged themselves in autonomous changes over a span of one year. Their journey started with sharing a peak experience in the child care center, values, and three wishes to make more of the most energized and proud experiences through paired interviews. The inquiry stage was followed by imagining a better future of the child care center with a shared vision, and innovating practices with strategic plans and collaborative wisdom, and implementing changes, along with monitoring and evaluating the whole 4-I process of AI-based evaluation approach. The participants focused on their professional competencies to work as “happy teachers in a positive organizational culture,” who would be willing to take new challenges, sharing their talents, knowledge and skills, and growing up with open-ended communication. They created 3 learning communities to join in on a voluntary basis and took their time to learn from other practitioners’ experiences, talents, and wisdom. The shared activities for professional development also influenced their classroom environment, interactions with the children, and curricular changes to encourage children’s choices and active participation. The results indicated positive possibilities of an AI-based evaluation approach to encouraging bottom-up changes with teachers’ increased autonomy, a collegial climate of a learning organization, and utilization of evaluation results.

educational evaluation, program evaluation, appreciative inquiry, autonomous changes, childcare practitioners, early childhood education and care

Juhee Park , Suksil Han

DOI: Vol.23(No.2) 23-38, 2017

The purpose of this study was to identify pretending elements that appeared in block play. We were also to determine if the pretend elements in block play differed between 3 years and 5 years old, and between boys and girls. The participants for this study were sixty-four 3-year-old children (36 were boys and 28 were girls) and sixty-eight 5-year-old children (32 were boys and 36 were girls). The analyzing tool of pretending elements in clay play (ATPE) developed by Han & Park (2010), was used to evaluate the pretending elements which appeared in block play. Twelve undergraduates majoring in early childhood care and education were trained to observe and record the pretending elements in block play. One hundred and twenty six (126) children were divided into 25 groups of 5 children each, with one group of six. They participated in 5 block play sessions twice a week. The duration of each play session was 40 minutes. T-tests were used to examine the differences in the pretending elements by gender and age. The children participated more in ‘projective pretend play’ than ‘self-subjective pretend play’. In sub-items of self-subjective pretend play, ‘pretending to play a role’ appeared most frequently in both gender. Whereas, in sub-items of ‘projective pretend play’, the most frequently appeared pretending element was ‘pretending play with an object’, especially boys did more ‘projective pretending with an object’ than girls. There were no differences in the pretending elements by age. This result indicated that constructive play was not just to make some constructions with materials but closely related with symbolism. It could be also seen that the pretending elements appearing in constructive play were differ from depending on the materials in the play. By providing appropriate and various materials to children, teachers and parents should guide and stimulate the constructive play with pretending.

block play, pretending elements, self-subjective pretend play, projective pretend play

Jooeun Oh

DOI: Vol.23(No.2) 39-56, 2017

Drawing on an ethnographic study of two immigrant children’s first year experiences at U. S. preschools, this paper reports the children’s social engagement through clean-up time. Data were collected and analyzed through participant observations and video-cued interviews. Framed by research of peer culture in preschool and Bakhtin’s concept of carnival, I examine differences between playtime and clean-up time that resulted in the two children’s different degrees of social engagement at each time. Findings show that the carnivalistic mode of clean-up time allows the children to be free from the social order at playtime and actively use the time for enriching their social engagement. The findings suggest that educators recognize constraints immigrant children experience from the established order at school and the need to rethink the value of carnivalistic moments such as clean-up time for social engagement of all children.

immigrant children, preschool clean-up time, peer culture, carnival, Bakhtin

Kyoung Jin Kim , Hae Min Yu , Min Kyung Han

DOI: Vol.23(No.2) 57-78, 2017

The purpose of this study is to examine general early childhood teachers’ beliefs about inclusive education in South Korea after compulsory inclusive education. A total of 351 teachers who had previous teaching experience in inclusive classrooms completed the Educators’ Belief Scale on Early Childhood Inclusive Education survey. Results indicate that whereas the overall sentiments towards inclusive education were positive, teachers expressed a lower level of willingness to implement inclusive education. The results show that teachers with higher qualifications, and longer teaching and training experiences hold more positive beliefs about ‘collaboration’ for successful implementation. The implications for teacher education, professional development, and collaboration between general and special education teachers are discussed.

inclusive education, teachers` needs, early childhood education

Yeonseung Lee , Soojin Lim , Jinryoung Choi

DOI: Vol.23(No.2) 79-95, 2017

The purpose of this study is to examine the structural relationship between variables that are influential on the utilization of R-learning in classes taught by kindergarten teachers, and the paths of such variables. An examination is conducted in an attempt to accelerate the use of R-learning among kindergarten teachers and to provide some information on the vitalization of R-learning in early childhood education. The subjects of this study were 107 kindergarten teachers, and a survey was conducted with their participation. The collected data were analyzed using the statistical package AMOS 21.0. The findings of this study are as follows: first, image and fun affect perceived usefulness; moreover, the self-efficacy of teachers exerts an influence on the perceived ease of use. Second, perceived usefulness has a significant impact on attitude toward R-learning utilization. Third, attitude toward R-learning utilization exerts an influence on both the activities and evaluation of in-class utilization.

R-learning, kindergarten teacher, facilitating factors for technology utilization

Youngsun Song , Eunju Yun

DOI: Vol.23(No.2) 97-122, 2017

This paper aims to criticize the current early childhood physical education and provide an alternative to the traditional physical educational approaches. Binary thinking has long dominated the physical education practices in early childhood practitioners: opportunity for play or game vs. professional physical training. Early childhood is not considered as a period of extensive ability development through embodiment (Choi, 2013) although young children deserve to learn about the ways of life through bodily movement and prepare for their future. In this respect, this study proposed somatic education as an alternative physical education for young children in that the education saw human body as a means to achieve individual developmental tasks by emphasizing bodily embodiment and comprehensive harmony in life. Somatic literacy helps young children understand that they can choose to achieve such embodiment on their own, thereby acquiring skills in theoretical and practical thinking (intellectual and experiential knowledge) as well as physical proficiency according to Linden (1994). This study suggests us to go beyond the binary thinking that is now pervasive in early childhood physical education fields and search for a variety of ways to improve physical education for young children in the direction of obtaining the wholeness of a human being.

somatics, somatic education, somatic literacy, physical education, early childhood education, young children, embodiment