Ok Seung Yang

DOI: Vol.7(No.0) 2-3, 2001

Sook Ryong Kim

DOI: Vol.7(No.0) 5-15, 2001

The relations of paternal involvement in childrearing to young children`s social competence was examined in a sample of 181 preschoolers` parents and teachers. Paternal involvement in childrearing was assessed by a modified version of the `Survey Measurement of Father Involvement in Childrearing`. The `Children`s Social Problem Solving Skill`, an observational coding system, was used to assess young children`s social competence. Correlational analyses showed that there are significant relations between paternal involvement in childrearing and children`s social competence. Paternal involvement in child care, play, school matters, and household is positively related to young children`s social adjustment, peer conflict solving skill, socioemotional expression ability, and consideration of others. The implications of the findings are discussed.

Lai Ha , Freda Yuen

DOI: Vol.7(No.0) 17-28, 2001

This research is to examine what types of school and family partnerships practices are perceived by school staff and families to be more beneficial for kindergarten children; and what impacts do school and family partnership programs have on children, teachers and family members. The research design utilized was a single case study. Eleven parents, six teachers and two school administrators participated in the study. Data collection methods included semi-structured interviews, document analysis, and observations. The major findings indicated that all groups of respondents identified school and family partnership programs as a critical factor in academic and behavior performance of children. Most parent and teacher respondents reported that their involvement in programs led to positive attitudes, contacts, and interactions with other partnership participants. It also found that some parents and teachers have negative attitudes as a result of their partnership experiences. Parents often hesitated to bring up issues or concerns because of their fear of retaliation against their child by the teacher. Teachers felt frustration while parents lacked confidence about of their professional competence.

Kwang Hee Jung , Alice Sterling Honig

DOI: Vol.7(No.0) 29-46, 2001

Eighty grandfathers and fathers from United States and Korea were interviewed for this study. To identify similarities and differences between grandfathers and their grown sons` child rearing practices and attitudes, four dimensions of fathering behaviors were coded from the Sears Interview Schedule (Sears, Maccoby, & Levin, 1957): nurturance, aggression, parental rules, and discipline. American grandfather-father pairs and Korean grandfather-father pairs revealed similar results. In permissiveness regarding child aggression toward others and in strictness with parental rules, fathers reported behavior similar to their fathers. In father`s nurturance, fathers from both countries showed more enlightened and affectionate behavior than their own fathers. In severity of discipline, American grandfathers reported more severe discipline than their sons did. The findings of this study are discussed in light of modeling theory, compensatory hypothesis, and cohort hypothesis.

Mi Kyung Kim

DOI: Vol.7(No.0) 47-59, 2001

The present study tried to find out when Korean children being to grasp this aspect of how a false belief can initially lead to an action with an undesired outcome. The aim of experiment was to examine when Korean children being to grasp this aspect of how a false belief can initially lead to an action with an undesired outcome. The population sample which provided the data for this study was composed of forty-five kindergarten children in Seoul, Sadang Dong. In Experiment, The present study used six stories, a chocolate box, a candy box, a cookie box, a Lego box, a pencil case and a crayon case. The statistical analyses related to the problems were computed using SPSS 8.0 for windows. The scores were analyzed in a 3(age) ×1(condition) factorial ANOVA and Multiple Comparisons(Tukey), 3(age) 2(condition) factorial ANOVA and Multiple Comparison(Tukey). The results of these experiments have shown that children start to understand that beliefs may be held with differing degrees of certainty at about four-years of age, and that this understanding is tied to their understanding of the nature of beliefs and the distinction between appearance and reality. The present study also showed that Korean young children develop the ability to predict action based on a person`s false belief about the age of five. Children come to understand false belief in themselves and in other people at about the age of four and five. At the same age they start to tell deliberate lies and are able to deceive other people by creating false beliefs in the other.

Olivia N. Saracho

DOI: Vol.7(No.0) 61-69, 2001

This study investigated (1) the types of literacy activities and materials that Japanese family members use to promote the children`s literacy development in their home environment and (2) the extent to which the Japanese children are exposed to literacy resources inside and outside their home. The sample consisted of 67 families of children who were enrolled in kindergarten. The Japanese Family Literacy Questionnaire was used to collect the data. It provides information on the types of activities and materials family members use to promote their children`s literacy development. The results show that the family members (e.g., father, mother, grandmother, aunt) are sensitive to their children`s interests and skills in their selection of activities and materials that promote their children`s literacy development and family-child interactions in their home environment. Family members engaged in literary activities in both inside and outside the home including trips to the library. The results show that family literacy activities provide general information (e.g., storybooks, recipes, cooking instructions), advertising information (e.g., newspapers, catalogs or advertisements, telephone book), and school/home information (e.g., personal letters, personal notes or messages left by family members in the home, student homework assignments, notes sent home by school or teachers, school cafeteria menu).

Kyung Hwa Lee , Daniel J. Walsh

DOI: Vol.7(No.0) 71-91, 2001

This article argues that the grand theories of child development of the twentieth century are no longer adequate for understanding young children and their development and learning. A cultural perspective on development is presented, with a brief history and a discussion of culture and its defining characteristics. The authors then explore some implications that a cultural psychology provides for research and practice in early childhood education. Three areas receive attention: cross-cultural studies; the relationship between folk psychology and folk pedagogy on the one hand and early childhood curriculum and teacher education on the other; and dialogue between Western and non-Western scholars.

Jin Young Kim

DOI: Vol.7(No.0) 93-114, 2001

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of word type, context, and vocal assistance on children`s pitch matching in their singing. The researcher taught a song to thirty six preschool children, aged 4-5, and tested each child`s pitch, sung in 12 test conditions, including the same melodic pattern with different words, in and out of context, and different types of vocal assistance. Results indicated that children`s pitch-matching abilities were better with the presence of vocal assistance (df=35, t=8.02, p<.005). There were interaction effects between word type and vocal assistance type (df=35, t=-1.48, p<.1), context and the presence of vocal assistance (df=35, t=5.95, p<.005), context and vocal assistance type (df=35, t=1.92, p<.05), and among word type, context, and vocal assistance type (df=35, t=-2.88, p<.005). These results were discussed in terms of factors which affect children`s pitch-matching abilities and developmental and educational issues.

Young Youn Kim

DOI: Vol.7(No.0) 115-134, 2001

The purpose of this study is to develop teaching methods for selected traditional Korean songs based on an integrative approach that combines music and games. It is hoped that the methods developed in this study may help to accelerate the globalization of Korea`s musical heritage, particularly of its traditional children`s songs. This study may be classified as qualitative in nature and explains methods for the physical application of traditional Korean children`s songs in the classroom setting. The collected songs were selected from past and ongoing studies on the subject conducted by the researcher (1998; 1999; 2001). The lyrics of five of the songs have been translated into several languages-English, Chinese, Japanese, German, French and Spanish (partial)-at the preschool and lower primary grade levels, and include phonetic guides for Chinese and Japanese. Each song is accompanied by proposed game-based teaching methods, described in illustrations, for the assistance of early childhood educators around the world.

Young Ja Lee , Jong Sook Lee , Eun Soo Shin , Hyang Lim Kwak , Jeong Wuk Lee

DOI: Vol.7(No.0) 135-147, 2001

This study aims to see whether there are any differences in infants` and toddlers` exploration and play activities related to the teacher`s teaching strategies. The teaching behaviors of 16 teachers from the eight child care centers were videotaped and analyzed. The teachers were classified under two types of teaching strategies: the nondirective and the directive type. One hundred and ninety infants and toddlers of these teachers were also observed and videotaped during two play sessions, for a total of 160 minutes on four consecutive days. Children`s exploration and play activities were analyzed in terms of the frequencies of exploration, observation (teacher-initiated vs child-initiated), negative behavior, initiation of play (teacher-initiated vs child-initiated), functional, constructive, dramatic, solitary, parallel/associative, teacher-supported, and creative behaviors. The results showed that the occurrence of the child-initiated play, constructive play, parallel/associative play, and creativity in the group of non-directive teachers were higher than in the group of directive teachers. Infants in the directive teachers showed more exploration and teacher-initiated observation.

Myae Han , James Christie

DOI: Vol.7(No.0) 149-162, 2001

Environmental variables have received scant attention in play research, largely because they have been overshadowed by attention given to play`s role in children`s development. This lack of interest in context variables tends to narrow the range of play inquiry and limit the generalizability of play research findings. For this reason, the purpose of this article is to review of existing research on effects of environmental factors on children`s play behavior. Our review focuses on three key environmental variables: space (amount and arrangement), quantity of play material, and time. As we review the research on each of these important topics, we discuss how teachers can use research findings to provide children with richer classroom play environments and observation and flexibility as a key. Suggestions for future research studies are also provided.