The purpose of this study was to find out the actual conditions of Early Childhood Education (ECE) Curriculum at Private English Teaching Institutes for preschool students, to compare recognition of parents with that of teachers, and to explore ways t...
The purpose of this study was to find out the actual conditions of Early Childhood Education (ECE) Curriculum at Private English Teaching Institutes for preschool students, to compare recognition of parents with that of teachers, and to explore ways towards efficient early childhood education. The research problems that had to be investigated in this study were as follows.
1. What are the actual conditions of ECE curriculum at Private English Teaching Institutes for preschool students?
2. Are there differences between recognition of parents and that of teachers on the current application of the ECE curriculum at Private English Teaching Institutes?
2-1. What are the recognition of parents on the current application of the ECE curriculum?
2-2. What are the recognition of teachers on the current application of the ECE curriculum?
The participants, in this study, included 33 teachers who were in charge of preschool students, and 70 parents of the children at 7 private English teaching institutes in Daejeon. The data were gathered by means of a questionnaire and analyzed using the MINITAB 13 program. Frequencies and percentages of each item were calculated and tests were preformed to compare recognition of parents with that of teachers. The major findings of this study are as follows:
First, as for the actual conditions of ECE curriculum applied at Private English Teaching Institutes, it was found that most institutes applied the ECE curriculum to all students, in the form of large group teaching during their English class. They were applied 2~5 times per week, and usually lasted 30 minutes to 1 hour. All five areas of the ECE curriculum were generally applied, focusing mainly on the language area(51%). Each institute designed the programs for the ECE curriculum, and teachers of each class taught the ECE curriculum. They used flash cards, books, and recording tapes. It was also found that 68 percent of the teachers were satisfied with the ECE curriculum applied.
Second, there were differences between recognition of parents and that of teachers on the current application of the ECE curriculum at Private English Teaching Institutes. Regrading the application of ECE curriculum, parents showed higher concerns on necessity, interest, and recognition. On the other hand, teachers showed higher concerns solely on application.
Third, both parents and teachers thought that applying the ECE curriculum was necessary. Also they were very interested and well-informed in the curriculum. Teachers had less interest in applying the curriculum, but felt more satisfied with it.
Based on the findings of this study, the following suggestions could be made. Since the lower classes of elementary schools are supposed to learn English from the year 2008, parents' demands on learning English might increase. Therefore, administrative measures should be taken to meet parents' demands. But it should be noticed that education for the development of personality of each preschool student is of utmost importance. Even though demands on learning English is increasing, the importance of ECE should not be overlooked.