The purpose of this study was to examine the activities presented in teachers' guide books for Nuri curriculum for the age of 5 according to activity types, the educational contents and composition (creativity, character, and curriculum contents in el...
The purpose of this study was to examine the activities presented in teachers' guide books for Nuri curriculum for the age of 5 according to activity types, the educational contents and composition (creativity, character, and curriculum contents in elementary schools) related to the domains of Nuri curriculum. To achieve this, the research questions were as follows.
1. What activity types and the educational contents are in teachers' guide books for Nuri curriculum for the age of 5?
1-1. What types of activities are in teachers' guide books for Nuri curriculum?
1-2. How are the activities in teachers' guide books assigned according to the curriculum contents of the 5 domains?
2. How are the activities organized in teachers' guide books for Nuri curriculum?
2-1. How are the activities presented in teachers' guide books for Nuri curriculum associated with creativity?
2-2. How are the activities presented in teachers' guide books for Nuri curriculum arranged by subordinate contents of character virtues?
2-3. How are the activities presented in teachers' guide books for Nuri curriculum related to the educational contents in elementary curriculum?
Current study examined 695 activities presented in the total of 11 theme-based teachers' guide books for Nuri curriculum for the age of 5 that the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology(2012b) published. To achieve this purpose, the activities were analysed according to their activity types, categories, and the educational contents presented in the 5 domains of Nuri curriculum which revised in 2012. Moreover, composition of the activities was investigated by considering two factors, creativity and character. The activities related to creativity were analysed according to the element for creativity that the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology(2011b) introduced. Also, the activities arranged for character were examined according to subordinate contents of character that the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology(2011a) presented. Lastly, the educational contents related to elementary curriculum were analysed based on the theme and domains in subjects of elementary curriculum that was announced in 2011. Furthermore, the frequency and percentage for the analysis were calculated.
The followings were a summary of the conclusions of this study.
Firstly, the activities included in the guide books for teachers displayed an irregular tendency in types. Overall, more than half of activities were composed of large and small group activities rather than having free choice activities and outdoor activities. Especially, storytelling was most common, whereas field trip was least. The second largest proportion of the activities following storytelling was storybook, poem, and play. Also, a proportion for language area in free choice activity time was high in general which explains that the degree of using activities related to language are large.
Secondly, the activities related to nature exploration were most highly distributed among the 5 domains in teachers' guide books. Of educational contents, the most common activities were related to 'speaking about feeling, thought, experience' in the domain of communication. However, there were no activities related to 'exploring movement and requisite of dance' in the domain of art experience. Thus, this referred that the educational contents related to the curriculum were disproportionately reflected in the activities.
Thirdly, the activities presented in teachers' guide books according to creativity as one of the composition aspects were examined. As a result, they focused mostly on cognitive element, especially on extending ideas and problem solving skills. The next common activities were related to motivational elements, especially with curiosity, interest, and commitment. Meanwhile, the least common activities were related to dispositional elements.
Fourth, the activities in teachers' guide books according to character virtues as another aspect of composition were investigated. As a result, the frequency was most high in cooperation, and was followed by respect, consideration, orderliness, giving, and filial piety. In considering subordinate contents, the activities related to positive interdependence for cooperation were most common. One the other hand, there were no activities related to filial piety for grandparents and senior in a community. Thus, it would be necessary to have a balanced approach for the virtues.
Lastly, the activities in teachers' guide books according to the subjects for elementary schools were analysed. As a result, most activities were consisted of courteous life, wise life, and delightful life as Korean, mathematic, and integrated courses for the first and second graders. Not much, but some activities related to science, music, and physical education for three to six graders were also included. In relation to the domains of subjects for the first and second graders, the most common activities were related to listening and speaking in Korean, while the activities related to grammar were the least common.