The purpose of this study is to examine how kindergarten teachers perceive nature friendly educational activities today, the difference of the perceptions depending on each demographic variable, the relation between actual practicing activity and fact...
The purpose of this study is to examine how kindergarten teachers perceive nature friendly educational activities today, the difference of the perceptions depending on each demographic variable, the relation between actual practicing activity and factors which have influence on kindergarten teachers‘ perceptions of nature friendly educational activities, and its limitations, thus to suggest the orientation of natural friendly educational activity.
The research questions to reach the purpose of this study are as followings.
1. How do kindergarten teachers perceive and practice nature friendly educational activities?
1-1. How do kindergarten teachers perceive nature friendly educational activities?
1-2. How do kindergarten teachers perceive nature friendly educational activities according to demographic variables(type of kindergartens, certificate, age, career, academic backgrounds, experience of training)?
1-3. How do kindergarten teachers perceive the time of nature friendly educational activities?
1-4. How are nature friendly educational activities practiced according to the teachers' perceptions?
2. What factors have influence on kindergarten teachers' perceptions on nature friendly educational activities?
2-1. How do the factor of parents-reaction expectation and the factor of educational effect, and the factor of indoor environment(composition of pleasure objects in each sphere) have influence on kindergarten teachers' perceptions?
3. What are the limitations and improvement that teachers perceive from natur friendly educational activities?
Survey was conducted to confirm research questions above, and subjects were 109 teachers who worked at private kindergarten and nursery in Y city, Gyunggi-Do. The questionnaire was composed of total 47 questions about the perceptions of natural friendly educational activities, positive perceptions on natural friendly educational activities, indoor and outdoor environment for natural friendly educational activities, expectation of parents reaction, practice of real educational activities, educational effect of natural friendly early childhood educational activities, and so on.
The collected data were analyzed with SPSS 11.5 program, ANOVA was conducted to examine the influence of teachers' demographic variables on the perceptions on natural friendly educational activities today, the correlation and regression analysis were used for the analysis of the result to examine factors that have influence on kindergarten teachers' perceptions on natural friendly educational activities.
The results from this research are as followings.
First, as the overall result of examining kindergarten teachers' perceptions on natural friendly educational activities today, they perceived current early childhood educational activities were centered on intelligence development rather than the education for the whole man, so they agreed to divert the direction to natural friendly education, and they positively perceived that natural friendly educational activities had to be carried out from infancy.
There was no statistically significant difference of kindergarten teachers' perceptions on natural friendly educational activities according to demographic variables(type of kindergarten, certificate, age, teaching career, academic backgrounds, experience of training).
As the result of investigating actual educational activities according to teachers's perceptions, they perceived natural friendly educational activities positively, but the frequency of practice was not high in actual activities.
Second, as the result of examining the factor that has influence on kindergarten teachers' perceptions on natural friendly educational activities, there was statistically significant difference when the expectation of parents reaction and educational effect, and pleasure object in each sphere of optional activities in a class were not made up in natural friendly way.
Third, for the limitations in natural friendly educational activities, they perceived it in order of insufficient environmental condition, insufficient information of natural friendly education program, and the discordance with present curriculum of early childhood education.
Fourth, for the perceptions on support for natural friendly educational activities, kindergarten teachers thought that the training course did not reflect contents of natural friendly educational activities well, and that training and re-education for teachers were the most earnest in carrying out natural friendly educational activities.
After considering all the factors, teachers' perceptions have great influence on infants‘ activities of searching the nature, and having experiences of the nature in daily life, therefore preliminary teachers must take a course of subject on natural friendly education at university, teachers in active service must take training continuously, and also it is necessary to support an environment of natural friendly educational activities, and to divert perceptions of parents, principal, and teachers by and large.
However, the most important thing is that teachers break a fear of the nature, and the stereotype in educational activities, and also they must try natural friendly educational activities to be efficiently accomplished by enjoying and investigating the nature for themselves.