This study is an action research on a picture book-based play support for 5-year-old children. The objective of this study was to operate classes in which the revised Nuri curriculum in 2019 was reflected and then find out problems in the practice of ...
This study is an action research on a picture book-based play support for 5-year-old children. The objective of this study was to operate classes in which the revised Nuri curriculum in 2019 was reflected and then find out problems in the practice of young children-led plays, thus examining the educational changes of children and teachers in the course of executing a picture book-based play support for young children and then finding out improvement plans. For this, study questions were established as follows:
1. ‘How to consist of the course of action research on a picture book-based play support for 5-year-old children?’
2. ‘What is young children’s change in the course of action research on a picture book-based play support for 5-year-old children?’
3. ‘What is teacher’s change in the course of action research on a picture book-based play support for 5-year-old children?’
An action research was conducted with 15 5-year-old children attending at D Kindergarten in Gyeonggi-do, from March to May, 2021. Data were collected through participatory observations, children’s play records, interview with children and parents, and teacher’s journals.
Study findings are as follows:
First, the action research on a picture book-based play support for 5-year-old children was conducted in three sessions. In the first session, the author established a plan for a picture book-based play support and then provided environmental supports, based on children’s interest in the picture book-based play. In the second session, via a postscript for an empirical/logical approach to support young children’s initiative and creativity in the search process of picture books, the author supported young children’s play. In addition, the author handed over the initiative of a picture book-based play to young children, thus making it a children-led play. And in the third session, the author practiced a picture book-based play support from the stage of planning based on children’s proposals, thus making it a children-led creative play. This session was carried out as a cyclical action research and observed the positive changes of 5-year-old children and their teachers.
Second, via the action research to support a picture book-based play for 5-year-old children, young children showed initiatives in their voluntary plays, immersed in it, displayed creative abilities, and enjoyed picture book reading, thus improving their literacy.
Third, via the action research to support a picture book-based play for 5-year-old children, teachers acknowledged/supported young children’s play based on observations, established a curriculum for a picture book-based play, and enjoyed the play with children.
The action research to support a picture book-based play support for 5-year-old children seems to be significant in that it was initiated with educational agonies in an inactive development of plays in classes and difficulties in the practice of the revised Nuri curriculum in 2019, and then carried out a teacher-led research to improve/change young children’s plays in classes. The author hopes many follow-up studies on a picture book-based play support in schools will be conducted in the future, thus providing a meaningful support to young children’s play.