The purpose of this study is to investigate the current status of its operation and teachers’ perception towards the looping of nursery infant teacher. To this end, research problems are set as follows:
1. what is the current status of the looping ...
The purpose of this study is to investigate the current status of its operation and teachers’ perception towards the looping of nursery infant teacher. To this end, research problems are set as follows:
1. what is the current status of the looping of nursery infant teacher?
2. what are the teachers’ perceptions towards the looping of nursery infant teacher?
Dating from March 26 to April 6, 2018, this study surveyed 260 looping infant teachers in the nursery schools located in either Seoul and Gyeonggi-do. The questionnaires used in this study have extracted the subcategories of the operational status of the looping practice from a previous study on the teacher's perception of continuous homeroom (Lee, Soo-jung, 2011), together with a literature related to the nursing home assignment (Gan, Ho-yeon, 2013). The basic questionnaire was revised and supplemented from the results of interviews with the teachers and the preliminary investigation, and the final questionnaire was completed by verifying the face validity. The subdomain of the final questionnaire consisted of 31 items which include 5 items on ‘general background’, another 5 items on the ‘current status of looping practice’, and 21 items on ‘teachers’ perception towards looping practice’. Based on the results of this study, the following discussions can be outlined according to the research questions.
First, regarding the operational status of the looping practice of nursery infant teachers, the orientations that can enhance the understanding of the system is in fact lacking. The decision on whether or not to implement the looping was made most often by a chief of the institute. Yet the teacher’s opinion was heard through personal interviews at the time of class allocation and was well reflected. Also, the selection of the looping teachers is also decided by the chief of the institute. Further, the commonly considered teachers’ background variables that are used as criteria for allocating looping teachers are ‘emotional stability’, ‘positive relationship between teacher and infant’, ‘experiences in different infant age group’, ‘class running ability'.
Second, regarding the teachers’ perception towards looping practice, a number of teachers recognized the objective of the system as to improve children’s emotional stability. Moreover, most of the teachers admitted that the looping practice is necessary and the majority of them considered the appropriate duration of looping would be at least two years. Subsequently, the teachers’ perception on the effect of the looping was that it is helpful for the enhancement of infant’s adaptation to the nursery school and their emotional stability, and agreed that the looping is suitable for the development of the infants. Furthermore, they believed that the looping has a positive effect on the constructive parent-teacher relationship, teachers’ reliability, and the connection with the children’s home. Finally, the introduction of the looping was considered as a system that helps teachers to shorten the time to identify the characteristics of infants. Especially, less experienced teachers felt more rewarding for their job, while more experienced teachers showed a higher preference for looping. Nonetheless, although many teachers considered the looping practice to be effective aspects, the more than half of the respondents answered that they do not want to participate.
Third, the professionalism was named to be the most important factor among teachers’ competence for implementing the looping. The following question that is asking what kind of support is needed to succeed the looping, the most frequently answered is that it is necessary to actively gather the teachers’ opinion and to encourage them.
The results of this study suggest that the majority of teachers positively conceives the necessity and effectiveness of looping, hence it can be concluded that it is an appropriate institutional program for the infants’ development, in which the attachment formation takes a large role. On the contrary, the actual education practitioners, the teachers, felt great responsibilities for the implementation of the looping, and it seemed that some improvements on this matter were needed.
First, it is necessary to change the perceptions through orientation and education opportunities such as introducing expected effects and necessity, setting operation plan, and suggesting successful case examples. Also, considering the high pressure that the teachers have for a longer-lasting relationship with infant and parent, the orientation at the institutional level will be needed to enhance the cooperation of the parents.
Second, it is necessary to have an appropriate personnel management procedure in terms of class allocation and an appropriate atmosphere for gathering the teachers’ opinion. It will be difficult to satisfy every stakeholder in all decisions, but it is much necessary to clarify the procedure, to share the rationale for the final decision, and to establish empathy with teachers for their motivation.
Third, considering the role of the teacher to grasp the infants’ ever-changing personal development, interest, and desire, as well as the development level for each age, a support to increase looping teachers’ capacity and moral through appropriate and various education opportunities including teaching method, interaction, and course materials.
Fourth, as the purpose of looping is to enhance infants’ sense of security by identifying their individual characteristics, the looping refers to an educational practice that is based on the deeper understandings of the infant. In order to increase the educational effect, it is important that the condition is set in order to implement the looping. It is necessary to support the teachers to carry out their roles as a stable educator and guide by letting them concentrate on grasping the characteristics and needs of the infant as well as their development through reducing the number of infants per teacher and administrative work.
This study expects that it could be a groundwork for the provision of effective child-care through implementing the looping of nursery infant teachers.