The purpose of this study is to examine the relationship between early childhood teachers’ expertise development and job satisfaction and analyze their differences due to background variables and their correlation.
With this purpose, this study set...
The purpose of this study is to examine the relationship between early childhood teachers’ expertise development and job satisfaction and analyze their differences due to background variables and their correlation.
With this purpose, this study sets up the following research questions: 1. Are there differences in expertise development due to early childhood teachers’ individual variables (types of working places, experiences, educational levels, marriage statuses)? 2. Are there differences in job satisfaction due to early childhood teachers’individual variables (types of working places, experiences, educational levels, marriage statuses)? 3. What correlation is there between early childhood teachers’ expertise development and job satisfaction? The subjects of this study were 209 teachers from some daycare centers and kindergartens in Busan Metropolitan City, for whom I carried out a survey with a questionnaire.
This study used as a research tool, “Self Evaluative Tool for kindergarten Teachers’Level of Expertise Development,” which Baek and Jo (2004) had developed. Then, it used the test tool, into which Song (1993) had translated compositional factors out of the “tool for measuring kindergarten teachers’ job satisfaction.”
For data analysis, the SPSS 12.0 program was used, Cronbach’s αwas yielded for the purpose of the verification of the measurement tool, and frequency analysis is performed in order to grasp early the childhood teachers’individual variables. Also, averages and standard deviations were yielded to grasp differences in expertise development and job satisfaction due to the variables, and in turn independent sample t-test and One Way ANOVA, and then Scheffe’s test were performed. Correlation analysis was carried out in order to analyze early childhood teachers’ expertise development and job satisfaction.The results of this study are as follows: First, as for the differences in expertise development among the early childhood teachers due to their individual variables, it has turned out with respect to types of workplace that the early childhood teachers highly perceived the entire expertise development, with respect to ecological development that national and public kindergarten teachers more highly perceived the level of expertise development than private daycare center teachers. With respect to the development of knowledge and skills, the national and public kindergarten teachers more highly perceived the level of expertise development than private, workplace, and national and public child care center teachers. As for experiences, it has turned out that those teachers with 10-year or more experiences more highly perceived the level of expertise development than those with 3- to less than 6-year experiences and those with 6- to less than 10-year experiences. As for ecological development, those teachers with 10-year or more experiences more highly perceived the level of expertise development than those with less than 3 year experiences and those with 3- to less than 6-year experiences, and that there were significant differences. As for marriage statuses, it has turned out that married teachers more highly perceived the level of expertise development than unmarried ones with respect to the entire expertise development, knowledge and skill development, self-understanding development, and ecological development. Second, as for the differences in job satisfaction among theearly childhood teachers due to their individual variables, it has turned out with respect to their job satisfaction due to workplace types that private kindergarten teachers had higher job satisfaction in the relation with their head teachers than private, national and public, and corporate daycare center teachers. It has appeared that private kindergarten teachers had higher job satisfaction than private daycare teachers with respect to salary, chance of advancement, and entire job satisfaction. As for the satisfaction with working environments, it was found that the teachers with 10- and more than 10-year experiences were more satisfied than those with less than 3-year experiences and those with 3- to less than 6-year experiences. As for the satisfaction with working environments due to educational levels, the teachers with a master’s degree had higher satisfaction than those graduating from 2- or 3-year colleges. As for the satisfaction with duties with respect to marriage statuses, the married teachers were more satisfied than unmarried ones.Third, as a result of the examination of the correlation between the early childhood teachers’perceived levels of expertise development and job satisfaction, a high positive correlation appeared. As for the sub-area correlations between the three sides of the levels of the early childhood teachers’ expertise development due to their individual variables and their job satisfaction, they showed high positive correlations with entire development, knowledge and skill development, self-understanding development, and ecological development. From these results, it was found that the higher the early childhood teachers’perception of knowledge and skill development in accordance with their levels of expertise development, the more satisfied they were with their working environments, that the higher their perception of self-understanding development, the more satisfied they were with their duties, and that the higher their perception of ecological development, the more satisfied they were with their fellow teachers.