자유선택활동에 대한 어린이집 교사의 인식 및 운영실태 = Child Care Center Teachers` Awareness and Management of Free Play Activity

다국어 초록 (Multilingual Abstract)

The purpose of this study is to understand and examine child care center teachers` awareness and management of free play activity, and to provide fundamental data for more effective future management of free play activity. For this study, 240 surveys were distributed to teachers in child care centers to explore their awareness and management of free play activity. The results of this study are as follows: First, most child care center teachers were positively aware of the purpose of free play activity as introducing specific concepts to children. There were differences in teachers` overall awareness of the purpose of free play activity by a type of center, teaching experiences, and ages, while there was no difference by teachers` educational background. Most teachers were positively aware of their role in free play activity as solving a problem through intervention in fights between children. There were differences in teachers` overall awareness of their role in free play activity by a type of center and educational background, while there was no difference by teaching experiences and ages. Second, most teachers were highly aware of a problem in free play activity as not knowing how to guide children properly in various problem situations. Third, schedule of free play activity for most child care center teachers was 50～60 minutes and twice a day. Most teachers make an arrangement of free play activity alone, and they don`t choose an area of free play activity in an established way. Most teachers allow children to choose the next activity for themselves in general. Teachers were aware that the most active area in free play activity is the black area because children prefer to the black area itself. On the other hand, teachers were aware that the most inactive area in free play activity is the number/science area because children dislike this area itself. Most teachers set up free play activity according to section, season, and term. And they limit the number of children when a certain area is crowded. After free play activity, most teachers evaluate the activity.