Ok Seung Yang

DOI: Vol.8(No.1) 2-3, 2002

Sang Chun Shin

DOI: Vol.8(No.1) 4-5, 2002

Kathy R. Thornburg

DOI: Vol.8(No.1) 7-36, 2002

Preparing children for school has been a national priority since 1990. Current research indicates that many children are entering school without the essentials they need for success. The U.S. National Educational Goals panel has identified five areas of development that have an impact on children`s success in school: physical health and development, social and emotional development, approaches to learning, language development, and cognitive development. Research indicates that early experiences make significant contributions to children`s development. The quality of children`s early experiences is influenced by their homes, schools and communities. Policy recommendations are presented that support high quality experiences for young children in all of these settings.

Jeffery L. Buehler

DOI: Vol.8(No.1) 37-60, 2002

The approach to teaching young children know as developmentally appropriate practice (DAP) is a culmination of educational techniques that have attempted to create the most beneficial environments for the education of young children. Built with a foundation of early childhood development, this comprehensive approach to improving the lives of children emphasizes the individuality of each child as seen in their learning styles and developmental progress, as well as their needs and interests. It is the purpose of this article to describe what the theory of DAP means to early childhood educators. To illustrate th process of constructing developmentally appropriate curriculum and environments, examples are provided from the University of Missouri-Columbia Child Development Lab. To determine DAP`s value and effectiveness, this article offers the research conducted in the fifteen years since its inception that indicates that the standards of developmental appropriateness have improved the quality of early education as well as children`s outcomes across developmental domains.

Yeung Suk Lee

DOI: Vol.8(No.1) 61-100, 2002

Realizing the foremost important factor in determining the quality of early childhood education is the teaching-learning method, in other words, improvement in instruction method. The purpose of this study is to develop a developmentally appropriate instruction process model that coincides with the purpose and spirit of the sixth national kindergarten curriculum in Korea. To achieve the purpose, the researcher firstly investigated the realities and problems of the current early childhood curriculum. Secondly, he examined the essential elements of a developmentally appropriate instruction model. Finally the researcher proposed stages of the DAP instruction model which consisted of 8 phases: (1) topic search, (2) brainstorming, (3)activity network organization, (4) activity feasibility examination, (5) activity objective description, (6) activity outlining , (7) activity lesson plan, (8) trans-forming activity lesson plan for developmental level , and its each characteristics. The level-oriented national kindergarten curriculum in Korea has been based rationales of the developmentally, appropriate curriculum, Unfortunately, under the current conditions of early childhood fields, it`s hard to apply DAP instruction model because of the inexperienced/not highly educated teachers who lack the inservice training of the DAP curriculum. As a solution to the problems, the researcher suggested more researches and discussions concerning not only the validity and practicality of this instruction model, but also development of various instruction models to enhance the quality of early childhood education.

Hae Ryung Yeu

DOI: Vol.8(No.1) 101-113, 2002

The attempt is made in this paper to question the knowledge base and its epistemological ground that the 1997 revised edition of Developmentally Appropriate Practice stands on. To begin, the NAEYC position statement is critically examined in terms of its underlying assumptions about childhood, which are found to be deterministic and developmentalistic. Next, the discourse of developmentalism in the position statement is deconstructed through the examinations of its biologically reductionistic nature and of the modern epistemology it pertains to. And, alternative paradigms of inquiries are sought in order to expand the scope of discourse on childhood. Lastly, a suggestion is made through exploring the significance of postmodem multiplicism that can activate the diverse voices for early childhood education.

Se Kyung Park , Kathy R. Thornburg , Judith A. Mumford

DOI: Vol.8(No.1) 115-135, 2002

Early childhood professionals are the most important ingredients for the high quality early childhood care and education viewed as pivotal to the success of children`s development. They play an essential role in shaping young children`s social, emotional, and cognitive development and in preparing them for school. Yet, the inconsistent pre-service education and in-service training requirements are problematic for recruiting well-educated and well-trained teachers who provide deveioprnentally appropriate learning activities in educationally stimulating and safe environments .Although increasing pre-service requirements and providing on-going professional development opportunities are possible consideration in improving teacher qualifications, those in rural areas have limited resources to continue their efforts to attain developmentally appropriate knowledge and skills. The Project Rural EArly CHildhood(REACH) has been implemented in Missouri to provide on-site visitation, individualized training, and technical assistance to enhance the professional development of teachers and improve the quality of early care and education in rural communities. In closing, this paper suggests three policy implications concerning teacher qualifications, low wages and compensation, and the high turnover rate among early childhood professionals.

Boo Kyung Cho

DOI: Vol.8(No.1) 137-160, 2002

This study describes the professional development school movement as a part of attempt to achieve collaboration between university and school as well as how these collaborations are constituted in early childhood teacher preparation programs and kindergartens, and current affairs of early childhood teacher education in Korea. In reviewing related research results, the collaboration between university and school can find the effectiveness in views of offering opportunity for new teaming, changes in teaching concept and practice, sharing leader-ship, and offering qualitative practicum opportunity. Despite the potentials of collaboration, in order to sustain collaboration between university and school, problems of faculty incentive structure , conflict of values, lack of time and budget, high turnover rate of teachers, and resistance to the changes must reach a solution. By embracing such limitations, several plans which can be applied in current early childhood teacher education in Korea, are suggested: Collaboration in the courses related to teaching methods; Formation of collaborating team between cooperating teachers and student teachers in practicum; Connection between graduate school, graduate school of education, and in-service education; Activation of action research; Team teaching between faculty and teacher; Diversity of course management.

Early childhood teacher education, Early childhood student teaching, Professional development school

Young Youn Kim

DOI: Vol.8(No.1) 161-171, 2002

It is frequently said that early childhood education needs to include various teaching approaches and subject matters to confront with the growing diversity of modem society. But the question lies on the way of how to shorten the gap between the specialist and non-specialist teaching styles. This paper discusses the issues arising from the teaching of arts and language classes by specialists, against to regular classroom teachers, and attempts to determine the usefulness of specialist teachers. In addition, this paper provides practical ways and tips to steer specialized instructiontoward developmentally appropriate practices within a holistic rubric. For theexamination of the practical arts education environment of young children in Korea, this study conducted a quick and dirty structured interview. The study suggests the followings as the results: The importance of extended double major programs during the collegiate undergraduate level and that of specialists training in the academic field of early childhood education through the universities and a variety of teacher training institutions. In conclusion, it is also mentioned that a balance needs to be struck between the quantity and quality of specialized classes in Korea`s teacher training programs so as to integrate preschool curriculum applied to various grade levels.

Jean M. Ispa

DOI: Vol.8(No.1) 173-193, 2002

A number of the lessons learned from experimental home visiting programs can be applied to work with parents of children in center-based pro-grams. These include the need for staff training specifically regarding program goals and methods of working with parents, the importance of including process-oriented techniques that welcome parents to problemsolve with staff, the critical role of mutually respectful and trusting staff-parent relationships, the value of maintaining a focus on child-related issues, and the benefits of individualized approaches based on specific family needs, goals, and resources. Suggestions stemming from these lessons learned from home visiting programs are applied to work with parents in center-based programs .

Jae Yoen Lee , Sook Young Shim

DOI: Vol.8(No.1) 195-206, 2002

This paper reviews about developmentally appropriate practices(DAP) in terms of parent-teacher collaboration and discusses actual practices in early childhood education(ECE). First, developmentally appropriate parent involvement in early childhood programs is discussed with related theories and research. Second, implementing developmentally appropriate parent involvement is suggested by educating parents through a variety of practices, such as communication, parent meeting, and classroom involvement. Finally, involving parents in related DAP educational activities at home is essential to improve the quality of early childhood programs. It is concluded that the DAP statement envisions parents in lead roles as promoters and monitors of developmentally appropriate practice in early childhood settings.

Sook Ryong Kim

DOI: Vol.8(No.1) 207-220, 2002

Research has confirmed that forming quality relationships between children and parents is critical for children`s healthy development. Because attachment relationships are based on the child-parent interaction experience, the parental role as the attachment figure is very important. While constructing a quality relationship with parents is the most important task in early years, increased participation of mothers in the labor force decreases the amount of time mothers spend with their children. Fathers play important roles as attachment figures. This study demonstrates that paternal involvement in child rearing has a positive impact on young children`s development. This study also emphasized parent-teacher partnerships. Cooperation of parents and teachers offers useful information regarding child education and care to both counterparts. Children not only feel security and continuity with their parents but also with early childhood teachers. Thus building secure attachment relationships to adults is an essential part of early childhood development.