Bridging the Gap: Integrating Theory and Practice for Early Childhood Physical Education Teacher Education in Korea

Abstract

Early childhood physical education (ECPE) plays a crucial role in giving young children their first impressions of physical activity and promoting lifelong participation. In the Korean context, however, the provision of physical education to young children is challenging owing to a lack of expertise among teachers. This study aims to explore effective teacher training strategies to normalize physical education for young children in Korea. Accordingly, the purpose of this study was to derive teacher education strategies that minimize the gap between theory and practice in ECPE. These integration strategies are presented in two categories: pre-service teacher training strategies and in-service teacher training strategies. Five sub-categories were identified within each category, goal, content, method, evaluation, and environment, and the educational implications in terms of minimizing the gap between theory and practice in ECPE teacher education were discussed based on the results. The teacher education strategies derived based on this study are significant in that they prioritize the integration of theory and practice based on the shared opinions of ECPE scholars and practitioners and offer concrete and practical approaches that can actively contribute to the promotion of ECPE.