Teachers’ Changing Perceptions of Transitions in the Infant Classroom through Learning Community Activities

Abstract

This study aimed to examine teachers’ changes for transition, which takes place in the process of participation in learning communities by infant daycare teachers. The participants were four teachers in charge of the 1-year-old and 2-year-old classrooms at the daycare center. Learning community activities were implemented for them, and one expert participated in cooperative consulting. The data collected during the learning community process were qualitatively examined. The analysis showed that infant teachers changed their perceptions, practice, and emotions about transition through learning community activities. The following four categories were derived: a change in perception from passing time to meaningful time; an emotional shift from a time of waiting and boredom to a time of pleasure and freedom; a change in practice from teacher-led time to infant-respecting time; and starting from a sense of burden and fear and arriving at sharing and growing together. Further, the study shed new light on the fact that reflectively looking back on transitions in terms of curriculum operation while experiencing the benefits of reflective thinking and group intelligence through consulting with a learning community marks a critical period in that transition time and affects infants.