Eun Young Yoo , Bong-woon Ha

DOI: Vol.24(No.1) 1-23, 2018

This study investigated how, and to what degree, performance-based bonus pay programs in South Korean public kindergartens have influenced teachers to improve their teaching behaviors. The data were collected through a survey covering 225 teachers, with a 75 percent response rate. Based on similar previous research, the survey was developed to include nine factors (understanding and acceptance of the system, impact on their teaching and work, evaluator, fair evaluation process, fair evaluation results, accurate evaluation results, stress, and [vice] director’s support) using five-point Likert scales. The teachers indicated their unclear understanding of the evaluation system and felt that the process was unreasonable, and that it did not positively impact their work. As a result, teachers had low expectancy probabilities from the evaluation program and a reduced possibility of improving their instructional performance.

performance-based bonus program, expectancy theory, teacher evaluation system, public kindergarten teachers

Haesung Im , Kyong-ah Kwon , Elaine Surbeck

DOI: Vol.24(No.1) 25-47, 2018

Although interpreting and applying the professional teaching standards is a complex and active cognitive process influenced by teachers’ knowledge and teaching context, there is a lack of in-depth research into how early childhood teachers’ cognition impacts the way teachers change their beliefs and practices. With a cognitive framework, this study focuses on a preschool teacher and an elementary school teacher’s changing beliefs and practices as they apply Early Childhood Generalist(EC-GEN) Standards during and after the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards(NBPTS) process. The findings from a qualitative comparative study suggest that EC-GEN Standards guided teachers to reflect on child-directed learning, personalized, more meaningful and intentional teaching. Additionally, there were several similarities and differences in how teachers make sense of the EC-GEN Standards by grade/age levels due to their different approaches to teaching. Implications for reinforcing teachers’ professional development and utilizing professional teaching standards as a linkage for Pre-K to grade 3 continuities are discussed.

early childhood generalist, Developmentally Appropriate Practices, National Board Certification

Koeun Kim

DOI: Vol.24(No.1) 49-66, 2018

Based on an in-depth, qualitative study of Head Start teachers’ work in the United States, this study examines the distinctive nature and complexity of early childhood teachers’ work from multi-faceted temporal perspectives. This study accounts for the daily struggles and the significant effort required of preschool teachers to negotiate their work in the current regulatory policy environment. Findings highlight the multiple relational demands currently made on teachers to perform caring work in the context of team teaching/working. In the process, this study challenges the current undue emphasis on teachers’ personal (ir)responsibility to manage their time, while making visible how daily teacher practices come into conflict with the dominant clock time assumptions. I suggest that more research is necessary to address teachers’ gendered and embodied temporal experiences, which are inseparable from power relations, in order to advance our knowledge and understanding of teachers’ work experiences and advocate for their well-being.

early childhood teachers, Head Start, teacher time, teachers’ work, temporal experience

Nanette S. Schonleber , Ivy K. Kelling

DOI: Vol.24(No.1) 67-92, 2018

The purpose of this qualitative case study was to investigate and analyze the processes and initial outcomes of a K-3 Hawaiian culture-based science program created collaboratively by five Hawaiian language immersion early childhood teachers, their administrator, and a university professor. Data collection included semi-structured interviews and focus group discussions with the five K-3 educators and their administrator, analysis of teacher and student work samples and reflections, and individual classroom observations. Data analysis revealed an increase in science content confidence and self- efficacy in both teaching and learning the sciences. Three emergent themes led to a grounded theory implicating both the importance of ongoing professional development and the use of place-based practices in indigenous education. Suggestions are offered for educators wishing to adapt or create culture-based science programs to increase equity and access to the sciences for diverse young children.

professional development, Hawaiian culture-based education, K-3 science education, place-based education, culturally diverse learners

Soojung Kim

DOI: Vol.24(No.1) 93-112, 2018

With the aim of proposing a specific intervention program that can improve text comprehension in early childhood, this study reviewed the relevant literature. In particular, considering that young children spend considerable time at home, and the influence of parents on their young children’s development is profound, this study particularly focused on the role of parents in developing young children’s text comprehension. Given that the design of the dialogic reading intervention program aims at providing specific shared book reading settings at home for parents and their young children, and these settings have the potential to provide the young children with opportunities to practice inferring and integrating the meanings of texts―the core components of text comprehension―dialogic reading activities will guide the proposed family intervention program. Thus, this proposed family intervention program will support young children’s ability to naturally infer from a text and integrate the meaning of the text through the use of these dialogic reading activities with their parents at home.

text comprehension, early childhood, parental involvement, dialogic reading

Mira Chung , Minjeong Kim , Mina Lee

DOI: Vol.24(No.1) 113-130, 2018

This study aims to examine the moderating effect of mothers’ parenting styles on pre-schoolers’ effortful control and teacher-child relationships. For the purpose of this study, data were collected from children aged 3, 4, and 5, their mothers (n = 427), and teachers (n = 80). Results revealed that the moderating effect of mothers’ didactic interaction on pre-schoolers’ effortful control and teacher-child relationships was statistically significant. The implications of this finding are discussed, particularly focusing on the importance of the influence of effortful control on teacher-child relationships, through its interaction with mothers’ parenting styles.

effortful control, parenting styles, teacher-child relationships

Myn-gyun Kwon

DOI: Vol.24(No.1) 131-143, 2018

This study explored team-based learning (TBL) in a children’s literature course for pre-service early childhood education teachers and investigated the effects of TBL on self-directed learning and teaching efficacy of future early childhood teachers. Participants of this study included thirty one junior year students registered in a children’s literature course from four-year-university. Self-directed learning readiness scale by Fisher, King and Tague (2001) and teaching efficacy scale by Riggs and Enoch(1990) were utilized. Four cycles of TBL for 10 weeks were carried out (Park, 2015) with four themes of TBL. Each team maintained five to six students throughout four TBL cycles. Collected data were analyzed with SPSS 23 package in order to calculate the means, SDs and the mean differences between the pre- and post- of the self-directed learning readiness and the teaching efficacy scales. The paired t-tests were carried out and the analysis revealed significant differences between the pre- and post-tests of self-directed learning and teaching efficacy of future early childhood teachers. The implication is discussed in the need of change for teaching and learning practice for future early childhood teachers.

team-based learning, pre-service early childhood education teachers, self-directed learning, teaching efficacy

Soohyang Kim

DOI: Vol.24(No.1) 145-163, 2018

This study aims to examine which variables influence children’s personality most strongly by verifying a structural relationship among children’s personality, children’s temperament, parenting attitude, and peer competence. This study selected parents and classroom teachers whose children aged 5 attended an early childhood education institute. This study distributed two questionnaires to teachers and parents, that for the parents about their children’s temperament and parenting attitude and that for the teachers about children’s personality and peer competence. The collected data were statistically analyzed with SPSS 21.0 and AMOS 21.0. This study adopted SEM (Structural Equation Modeling) analysis to verify the children’s personality and its variables and the Sobel test to verify the mediating effect of measurement variables. As a result, children’s temperament, parenting attitude, and peer competence were found to have a direct effect on children’s personality. Moreover, children’s temperament had an indirect effect on their personality, mediated by parenting attitude and peer competence. In particular, peer competence affects children’s personality most, followed by parenting attitude and children’s temperament. It is expected that the results of this study will help us to better understand children’s personality and serve as basic data for the development of children personality education programs in the near future.

children, personality, temperament, parenting attitude, peer competence