This study aimed at providing fundamental information on the operation of full day classes through the examination of the operation of public and private kindergarten full day classes regrouped in the afternoon in Seoul and its metropolitan area and t...
This study aimed at providing fundamental information on the operation of full day classes through the examination of the operation of public and private kindergarten full day classes regrouped in the afternoon in Seoul and its metropolitan area and the difficulties of teachers in charge of full day classes.
In order to achieve such aim, the following research questions were addressed.
1. What are the actual conditions of operating classes and difficulties of teachers in charge of full day classes regrouped in the afternoon?
2. What are relationships with colleague teachers and difficulties of teachers in charge of full day classes regrouped in the afternoon?
3. What are relationships with parents and difficulties of teachers in charge of full day classes regrouped in the afternoon?
4. What are the improvements and complements for the effective operation of full day classes presented by teachers in charge of full day classes regrouped in the afternoon?
The subjects of this study included 244 kindergarten teachers in charge of full day classes regrouped in the afternoon in Seoul and its metropolitan area. The questionnaire used in this study was produced based on previous studies on the operation and actual conditions of full day classes and four research questions above. The questionnaire included eight questions about teachers' personal matters, eight questions about the actual conditions and difficulties of operating full day classes, eight questions about relationships with colleague teachers and difficulties, eight questions about relationships with children's parents and difficulties and five questions about the improvements and complements of the operation of full day classes. The collected data were presented in frequency and percentage using SPSS 12.0 program.
The results of this study were summarized as follows.
First, with regard to educational planning and activities in the operation of full day classes, private kindergarten teachers who became in charge of full day class in rotation delivered classes with a focus on protecting children. Private kindergarten teachers in charge of only full day classes delivered children's gifts-focused education. Public kindergarten teachers in charge of only full day classes covered not only other life topics but also topics and contents covered in half day classes. As for main activities, private kindergarten teachers who became in charge of full day classes in rotation operated classes with a focus on activities that required few detailed planning. Private kindergarten teachers in charge of only full day classes, on the other hand, focused on activities shown in public. Public kindergarten teachers in charge of only full day classes followed the national curriculum more faithfully than other teacher groups and consulted the data of the Ministry of Education and Office of Education the most among the three teacher groups.
The following results were obtained with regard to instructing children in full day classes. Teachers of three groups in charge of full day classes largely delivered classes in which large and small groups were linked. When instructing children with various ages, they tended to deliver classes with a consideration of the level of students whose age group was the most dominant in the class. As for the difficulties of operating and instructing full day classes, private kindergarten teachers in charge of full day classes pointed out overloaded tasks as the most difficult thing, and their counterparts in public kindergarten considered teachers' limited power as the most difficult matter.
Second, as for relationships with colleague teachers and difficulties, public kindergarten teachers in charge of full day classes maintained better relationships with colleague teachers than their counterparts in private kindergarten. Private kindergarten teachers in charge of full day classes felt more isolation attributed to the lack of relationship with colleague teachers and had less relationship with colleague teachers than their counterparts in public schools. Especially, private kindergarten teachers who became in charge of full day classes in rotation had more difficulty in getting along with colleague teachers because of their lack of responsibility.
Third, as for relationships with children's parents, private and public kindergarten teaches in charge of only full day classes displayed the same difficulty. They said they were less respected by parents than teachers in half day classes and that some parents even did not regard them as teachers. Private kindergarten teachers who became in charge of full day classes by rotation turned out to have little difficulty with relationships with parents,
Lastly, the three groups of teachers all sympathized with the need for the expansion of facilities and national support, and wanted the nation to improve their working conditions. With regard to improvements for the operation of the full day class, private kindergarten teachers who became in charge of full day classes by rotation suggested the increase of teachers in charge of only full day classes. Private and public kindergarten teachers in charge of only full day classes, on the other hand, said the improvement of teachers in charge of full day classes should be achieved more than anything else.