The purpose of this study is to find out the level of teachers' understanding of the ecologically oriented early childhood education. The study is eventually aimed to promote the ecology oriented program for preschool students. In order to meet the go...
The purpose of this study is to find out the level of teachers' understanding of the ecologically oriented early childhood education. The study is eventually aimed to promote the ecology oriented program for preschool students. In order to meet the goal of the study, it is noted that the survey is required in the following key areas which are critical factors for the success of the education for the students.
First, the search for the extent of teachers' knowledge of the ecologically oriented early childhood education is required! Secondly, what is the status of ecologically oriented education available at the preschools? Thirdly, what are the obstacles and their ideas of dealing with the problems encountered in the real field of the education?
The questionnaires were collected from 100 teachers of public and private kindergartens. Originally, the number of distributed copies were 120 of both groups in Incheon Metropolitan City. The returned questionnaires were 104 from public and 103 from private schools. However, 7 out of the total were discarded as the answers were inappropriate for the purpose of the study.
The survey tool used for this study is a questionnaire which consists of 11 questions for the understanding of the ecologically oriented education and 18 questions for the current status of the education and 3 questions for the problem solving abilities of the teachers.
The survey results are summarized as below:
Firstly, most of teachers are interested in the ecologically oriented education highly regardless of their ages or of the level of education. Also, they responded positively to the effectiveness of the education. This shows that the environment of the ecologically oriented education is not supported enough in real life of education while they are aware of it's importance already. In practical, many teachers expressed that they were having difficulty to get information about the ecologically oriented education. So, the environmental supports are required to provide better access to natural resources for the teachers of childhood education which will lead them to provide the education more frequently and conveniently.
Secondly, the current ecologically oriented education in preschools are too simple and plain to the students. The most of classes are performed by experiences of third parties and not relying on teachers' own experiences. Also, there are no physical aids available in the classes. The education should be replaced by more practical classes like the invitation of professionals or experienced teachers using physical aids like films or other supporting materials.
Thirdly, there are less chances for the students in universities learn about the ecologically oriented education in universities. Most of the teachers got information from the seminars, lectures after graduation. Ironically, college students are used to get more opportunities to learn about the education than the graduates of universities. Currently, this means the curriculum of the universities do not reflect the requirements of the ecologically oriented education appropriately. So, it is recommended that the curriculum of the universities should be revised to meet the requirements of the education which will enable the students to build up more experiences from ecologically oriented classes.
As a result of the study, the proposal and limitation of the study are stated herewith to encourage the comprehensive research in the future.
Firstly, the development of programs for ecologically oriented education and study on the effectiveness of the programs are required which will fulfill teachers' interest in preschools.
Secondly, since the study is focused on statistics of kindergarten only in Incheon Metropolitan City, it does not cover the status of all preschools in the area. If the study from all preschools in the area like from House for Children's Education can be covered later, it will contribute extensively for ecologically oriented education to the preschool students.