교사의 놀이성과 교사-영유아 상호작용 간의 관계에서 놀이교수효능감의 매개효과

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to investigate differences in teachers' playfulness, play teaching efficacy, and teacher-child interactions based on sociodemographic background variables and to explore the mediating effect of play teaching efficacy on the relationship between teachers' playfulness and teacher-child interactions. To accomplish this, an online survey was conducted with 231 early childhood teachers working in kindergarten and childcare centers from various regions. The collected data were analyzed using SPSS version 21.0, including frequency, percentage, mean, standard deviation, and correlations. To examine the mediating effect of play teaching efficacy, Model 4 from the PROCESS macro v.4.0 for SPSS, as proposed by Hayes (2018), was employed for analysis. The study results revealed the following: First, there were differences in playfulness among early childhood teachers based on their age, while other variables showed no significant differences. Second, beliefs in play teaching efficacy, a sub-factor of play teaching efficacy, fully mediated the influence of playfulness on teacher-child interactions, while expectations regarding play teaching outcomes did not mediate this relationship. These research findings emphasize the increasing importance of teacher-child interactions, particularly following the implementation of the revised 2019 early childhood curriculum and the 4th revision of childcare center standard curriculum. Therefore, there is a need to support the enhancement of playfulness and play teaching efficacy among early childhood teachers to improve teacher-child interactions.