Educare teachers play the role of fosterers assisting children’s parents, so they are very important human factors for holistic development of children. Nevertheless, the researches on the effects of the adult attachment, which is teachers’ psycho...
Educare teachers play the role of fosterers assisting children’s parents, so they are very important human factors for holistic development of children. Nevertheless, the researches on the effects of the adult attachment, which is teachers’ psychological characteristics, on the children’s adjustment are minimal.
This research attempted to examine the effects of adult attachment, which is educare teachers’ psychological characteristics, on the adjustment behavior of children through teachers’ efficacy and discipline styles. To achieve this, survey was conducted on 866 children aged 1-5 years attending 23 nurseries located in Seoul, Gyeonggi and Gyeongbuk regions and their 135 teachers in charge.
In order to measure the educare teachers’ adult attachment, the self-reported type questionnaires for adult attachment, ECR(Experiences in Close Relationships), were used, and for the teachers’ efficacy, the PSOC(Parenting Sense of Competence)tools were revised for teachers to prepare them, and for the teachers’ discipline styles, the PSD(Parenting Style and Dimension) tools were revised for teachers to prepare them. Also in order to examine children’s adjustment, the evaluation data prepared by teachers in charge were collected by using the Korean version of children’s behavioral diagnosis.
For the statistical analysis on the collected data, the percentages, simple regression analysis, multiple regression analysis, and correlations analysis were conducted using the SPSS Win 15. 0 program and the AMOS 7.0 program.
The results of analyzing the correlations of educare teachers’ adult attachment, efficacy, and discipline styles with children’s adjustment and their effects are as follows. First, the educare teachers’ adult attachment was found to have significant effects on the efficacy of teachers. In other words, it could be seen that when educare teachers’ adult attachment was insecure, teachers’ efficacy was found to be low.
Second, the educare teachers’ adult attachment was found to have significant effects on the teachers’ discipline styles. In other words, when the educare teachers’ adult attachment was insecure, the discipline styles of logical explanation were used less and coercive and laissez-fair discipline styles were used more.
Third, the educare teachers’ adult attachment was found to have significant effects on children’s adjustment. In other words, it could be seen that when the educare teachers’ adult attachment was insecure, children’s adjustment skills became low and the levels of internalizing problem behavior and externalizing problem behavior became higher.
Fourth, the educare teachers’ efficacy was found to have significant effects on the teachers’ discipline styles. In other words, it could be seen that when the teachers’ efficacy was high, the discipline styles of logical explanation were used and when the teachers’ efficacy was low, the coercive and laissez-faire discipline styles were used more.
Fifth, the educare teachers’ efficacy was found to have significant effects on children’s adjustment. In other words, it could be seen that when the teachers’ efficacy was high, the levels of children’s internalizing problem behavior and externalizing problem behavior became lower and the levels of adjustment skills became higher.
Sixth, the educare teachers’ discipline styles were found to have significant effects on children’s adjustment. Particularly, the educare teachers’ discipline styles of logical explanation were found to have positive effects on children’s adjustment skills, and the laissez-fair discipline styles were found to have negative effects on children’s adjustment skills.
Now, the results of examining the structural correlations between the educare teachers’ adult attachment, the efficacy, the discipline styles and children’s adjustment are as follows. First, the educare teachers’ adult attachment was found to have indirect effects on children’s adjustment through mediation of the teachers’ efficacy. Second, the educare teachers’ adult attachment was found to have indirect effects on children’s adjustment through mediation of the teachers’ discipline styles. Third, the educare teachers’ adult attachment was found to have effects on children’s adjustment through the teachers’ efficacy and the teachers’ discipline styles. In other words, the educare teachers’ adult attachment was found to have effects on children’s adjustment through mediation of the teachers’ efficacy and the teachers’ discipline styles.
It was confirmed through this research that the educare teachers’ own adult attachment had effects on the teachers’ efficacy which in turn had effects on the teachers’ discipline styles and then on children’s adjustment. At this point of time when the educare teachers’ roles in actual fields have been emphasized, this research will provide basic data for in-depth understanding of the process in which teachers’ psychological characteristics have important effects on children’s development and adjustment, and it presents the need to develop practical education programs for the development of character and mental health of educare teachers.