유아교사가 인식한 사회적 지지와 반성적 사고, 교사효능감의 구조적 관계

Abstract

Objectives The purpose of this study is to analyze the structural relationship between perceived social support by early childhood teacher, their reflective thinking, and teacher efficacy. Methods The participants of the study were 404 teachers working at kindergartens and daycare centers in Seoul and Gyeonggi Province. The collected data were analyzed using SPSS and AMOS 23.0 program. We analyzed the structural relationship between social support, reflective thinking, and teacher efficacy by applying a structural equation model. The bootstrapping was conducted to verify the significance of the mediating effect. Results As a result of analyzing the structural relationship between social support, reflective thinking, and teacher efficacy, it was found that social support had a positive effect on reflective thinking and teacher efficacy, respectively, and reflective thinking had a positive effect on teacher efficacy. As a result of verifying the mediating effect of reflective thinking in the relationship between social support and teacher efficacy, it was found that reflective thinking positively mediated social support and teacher efficacy. In particular, it was found that social support had a greater indirect effect on teacher efficacy through reflective thinking than on teacher efficacy. Conclusions The results suggest that it is necessary to establish a social support system that can activate reflective thinking in order to improve the teacher efficacy of early childhood teachers.