유아교육자로 살아가는 중년 여성의 생애사 연구

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to understand and illuminate the life of middle-aged women who have worked for an early childhood institution and university training and educating a teacher for a long time as an early childhood educator. Moreover, this study is intended to present desirable quality and career direction to pre-service and in-service early childhood teachers and those who want to be a middle manager, a principal, or a professor. This study will offer an opportunity to experience senior early childhood educator’s life and reflect one’s life and a good guidance to decide a career. Therefore, this study will present basic data to promote institutional changes such as better working environment and treatment in order that early childhood education teachers can work in the field for a long time. This study was conducted for two purposes. First, this study was intended to extend the subject and scope compared with previous researches to secure the diversity of study. In other words, previous researches on life history were mainly focused on teachers or principals with a long career in early childhood education institutions. However, this study extended the career and subject to early childhood educators who had teaching experience in early childhood education-related universities and accordingly, the scope of the study was extended. Second, this study was intended to contribute to the career of students who major in early childhood education as a pre-service teacher, beginning teachers or experienced teachers in early childhood education institutions, or those who want to be a middle manager, a principal, or a professor. It will help early childhood educators in their 20s~30s experience difficulties and worth through experienced teachers’ course of life indirectly not to give up their career at the young age and grow and develop as an early childhood educator for a long time. For this reason, the subjects of this study were middle-aged women who majored early childhood education in university, have worked for early childhood education institutions for a long time without giving up their career, and rose to a principal or a professor in spite of difficulties and hardships. They were called ‘middle-aged women’ based on the adult development model by Levinson(1978) and research participants’ age was 40-65. Also, they experienced several duties and jobs and had various experiences and problem solutions as an early childhood educator for their life. This study selected three middle-aged women of forty and over with various social status and experience as a teacher, a middle manager, a principal, or a professor in several types of early childhood education or teacher training institutions for a long time to investigate their life as an early childhood educator from the view of life history. This study examined and analyzed their life from selecting early childhood education to being a principal on the assumption that they had various experiences according to their social status. Based on the findings, this study was intended to derive results with the focus on the objective of this study such as the worth, hope, and prospect in the middle-aged life as an early childhood educator, matters of early childhood education in hand and future directions, and changes in the view of teaching profession.

The conclusions of this study are as follows. First, although participants selected a teaching profession by their strong belief, they were influenced by multiple factors such as friends’ recommendation, job stability, social respect, and school records. In other words, two or three motivations worked in a complex way for their selection of teaching profession out of the active, passive, and physical motivation by Huberman(1993). Second is the importance of the beginning teacher period. According to previous researches, beginning teachers often give up their teaching profession due to adjustment to new environment, disparity caused by the difference of theory from reality, the lack of teaching ability, making new human relations, maladaptation to teaching profession, and conflict and identity crisis(Kim, H. S., 2006; Jeon, Y. S., 2011). However, the participants of this study met good principals, vice principals, senior teachers, and co-teachers in their institutions, received good education and learned attitude necessary for early childhood educator’s life, and could create selfhood. It was helpful to grow and develop as a principal or a professor. Third is the need to make constant efforts for self-development and improvement of professionalism as an early childhood educator. In the present society, it is very difficult to survive if there is no professionalism. In particular, unlike other fields, the early childhood education field has special characteristics of educating and protecting children and needs professionalism absolutely. The participants of this study grew and developed as a competent field professional and an early childhood educator through constant efforts and thorough self-management without setting for the present from the beginning teacher period to the present professor. Fourth is the need to improve the awareness of social roles of an early childhood education institution. A woman accounts for more than 98〜99% of workers for early childhood education institutions in Korea due to the features of early childhood education. Most principals of early childhood education institutions are married and have children but there is ambivalence in our society that a woman should take charge of domestic duties and child care. These factors cause many difficulties in playing the role of a principal. In particular, they act as the biggest obstacle to make a home life and a work life together. Thus, positive efforts in society are urgently made to improve these problems. Fifth, it is necessary to re-establish the meaning of a student and change into more student- and field-oriented education. Today, although university education has been greatly improved compared to the past, students still require the change into more consumer- and field-focused education. In particular, a sudden decrease in admission resources have become an absolute threat factor to the survival of universities and early childhood education departments. The participants of this study saw that the reality and future of the early childhood education field would bleak and emphasized a partner relationship between professors and students and student- and field-oriented education. Therefore, universities and early childhood education departments should change the paradigm of university education with the tide. Sixth, the quality of teachers and professors working in the early childhood education field should be constantly improved. Recently, teacher’s quality has been raised as a social issue because of the scandals of very few of the early childhood education institutions and it has caused people’s distrust. This problem may be caused by the dual education system of university training teachers and the in-service teacher management of early childhood education institutions. To solve these problem, it is essential to improve pre-service teacher’s quality by reforming the dual teacher training system of government through the integration of early childhood education and child care and in-service teacher’s quality by continuous and substantial education. Moreover, policy system is required to make time and space that in-service teachers can focus on their own training other than child education. Seventh, an early childhood educator should have the ability for understanding, consideration, communication, and interpersonal relations. They form various relationships with people around them including co-workers and their growth and development are positively or negatively influenced by them. The participants of this study also formed good ties during their work in the early childhood education field and learned positive and flexible thinking, good relationship with co-workers, and attitude toward communication. It was very helpful to grow as a principal and a professor. On the contrary, differences of educational philosophy, adhesion to old system, ignorance, or wrong awareness bring about serious conflicts, antagonism, and stress, resulting in quitting a job. It arouses the importance of interpersonal relations and shows that it is necessary to strive to improve interpersonal relations skill by continuous self-reflection to become a competent teacher in the early childhood education field. Eighth, three research participants who are full-time or part-time professors in university saw that the reality and future of early childhood education and the department of early childhood education would bleak. They presented their ideas about professor’s virtue, relationship with co-workers, the future direction of early childhood education, and professor’s fields of concern, and solutions of present problems. They laid stress on teaching students and pursuing their studies. They thought that a professor should have humanity and professionalism and maintain a partner or cooperator relationship with students and co-professors. They also predicted that the future would be very difficult due to decreased number of children and students, building up new educational environment with social changes, and negative awareness of society. They emphasized that universities and professors should attend to their main duties and strive in various aspects to overcome such a difficult situation. This study investigated and illuminated the life of middle-aged women who have worked in the early childhood field for a long time and had various experiences through the research of life history. This study understood their growth and development as an early childhood educator and learned two lessons. First, the reality and future of the early childhood education field in Korea were correctly understood. To overcome such reality and open up the bright future, the correct future direction of early childhood education should be established with active concerns and every effort. Second, although there are differences with the change of times, it is essential to make continuous self-reflection and reform and constant efforts to improve professionalism, recognize the importance of interpersonal relations, and strive not to give up and to overcome in spite of many difficulties.