Korean early childhood educators' beliefs and best practices: The impact of education, experience, and teaching context

The purpose of this study was to investigate Korean early childhood teachers' self-reported beliefs and their relationship to self-reported practices by using Korean translations of research instruments used frequently in the research of teachers' beliefs and practices in the U.S. (Teacher Belief Scale and Instructional Activities Scale). These instruments allowed the researcher to look closely at Korean teachers' strength of endorsement in a child-development oriented versus a more traditional, teacher-directed or didactic philosophy of practice.;Nine hundred fifty-five Korean teachers were invited to participate in this study. All participants were asked to complete a structured Teacher Beliefs Scale, an Instructional Activities Scale, and a Demographic Background Information Questionnaire. Ten additional Korean teachers completed the above questionnaires and were interviewed.;A moderate positive correlation was found between Korean teachers' self-reported beliefs and self-reported practices in this study. Korean teachers' strength of beliefs and practices were significantly impacted by school type (teachers at public schools held stronger beliefs and practices than those in private schools), setting (kindergarten professionals scored higher in both beliefs and practices than those in day care centers), age (older teachers expressed stronger DAP practices than younger), education (those with more education held stronger beliefs; those with four-year college degrees or higher had stronger practices scores than those who held high school or two-year college degrees), and specialized training (professionals with ECE/CD had stronger beliefs and practices than those with non-educational majors).