The purpose of this study is to identify the relationship between the personal factors of early childhood education and childcare teachers (age, education level, career, age of class in charge, type of institution, and number of years of training in I...
The purpose of this study is to identify the relationship between the personal factors of early childhood education and childcare teachers (age, education level, career, age of class in charge, type of institution, and number of years of training in I-eum education) and the government's policy promotion of I-eum education policy on I-eum education policy literacy. The research questions for the purpose of this study are as follows: What is the perception of I-eum education policy promotion and I-eum education policy literacy according to the personal characteristics of early childhood education and childcare teachers (RQ1)? What is the effect of the personal characteristics of early childhood education and childcare teachers and the government's policy promotion of I-eum education on I-eum education policy literacy (RQ2). To achieve this research objective, this study developed hypotheses through theoretical discussion and a review of prior research. To test these hypotheses, 450 teachers working at daycare centers in the Seoul metropolitan area were selected as the final study subjects. Data were collected through online and offline surveys. A total of 413 copies of the data were collected, of which 397 copies were deemed usable and used in the analysis. The collected data were analyzed using SPSS 23.0. First, internal consistency analysis and exploratory factor analysis were performed to verify the reliability and validity of the research instrument. Skewness and kurtosis were measured for each variable to confirm the normality of the data. Next, descriptive statistical analysis was conducted to understand the level of awareness among early childhood education and childcare teachers. To analyze differences in awareness between groups, independent sample tests and one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) were used. Finally, correlation analysis and hierarchical regression analysis were conducted to examine the impact of early childhood education and childcare teachers' personal factors and the promotion of connected education policies on policy literacy (traditional, functional, and critical). The main research findings are as follows. First, as a result of examining the awareness status according to the characteristics of early childhood education and childcare teachers, 75.3% of all respondents did not have experience with training or special lectures related to Ieum Education, confirming a lack of opportunities to come into contact with policies. Although there was an average difference in awareness of Ieum Education policy literacy, it was confirmed that traditional literacy, functional literacy, and critical literacy were generally perceived positively. In contrast, awareness of Ieum Education policy promotion was analyzed to be relatively low. Perceptions of each variable varied according to the characteristics of early childhood education and childcare teachers. Significant differences were found according to the teacher's career experience, age, and class age, but in particular, experience with training or special lectures related to Ieum Education was confirmed to have a significant difference in all variables. Second, the analysis revealed a positive correlation between the promotion of connected education policies and connected education policy literacy. Hypothesis testing revealed that the influence of teachers' personal backgrounds varied across policy literacy types. Teachers with higher education and experience, as well as those with training and educational experience related to connected education, were found to have higher levels of traditional and functional literacy. For critical literacy, teacher education was the only variable with a significant effect. Policy promotion of connected education, a policy factor, was found to have a positive impact on traditional, functional, and critical literacy. Based on these results, the theoretical and policy implications of this study are as follows: strategic policy promotion and revitalization of policy communication centered on strengthening policy capacity or policy literacy for connected education policies; expansion of training and education opportunities related to connected education; establishment of a customized support system considering teachers' career cycles and the ages of their classes; and operation of a two-way policy communication channel that gathers opinions from the field for the development of connected education policies.