A study on the relationship between self-leadership, learning attitudes, and academic achievement of university students majoring in early childhood education: focusing on a flipped learning classes in the curriculum for teaching profession

Objectives As learner-centered teaching methods emerge as a new paradigm in education, the flipped learning approach is increasingly being utilized in universities. This study aims to identify the relationship between flipped learning attitudes and self-leadership among university students majoring in early childhood education, partic-ularly within teacher education courses. It seeks to determine which specific self-leadership strategies sig-nificantly influence learning attitudes and academic achievement. Through this analysis, the study intends to ex-plore the potential for effectively utilizing self-leadership in flipped learning in the future. Methods The subjects of the study were 61 first-year students majoring in Early Childhood Education at B University in Seoul. Data collection took place from March to June 2024. The collected data were analyzed using Jamovi 2.25 for correlation analysis, multiple regression analysis, and ANOVA. Results A positive correlation (r = .53) was found between flipped learning attitudes and self-leadership. Among the three self-leadership strategies, the constructive thought pattern strategies significantly influenced flipped learning attitudes. Differences between academic achievement groups were confirmed, particularly between the A-grade group and the B-grade group, in terms of flipped learning attitudes, self-leadership, and the constructive thought pattern strategies as a sub-strategy of self-leadership. Conclusions Self-leadership, particularly the constructive thought pattern strategies, plays an important role in the effective application of flipped learning and can enhance students' academic achievement. Instructors need to develop support measures that can strengthen this self-leadership for the successful implementation of flipped learning. The significance of this study lies in confirming the influence of self-leadership, especially the con-structive thought pattern strategies, in a flipped learning environment. Based on these findings, universities could establish strategies for teaching and learning and support students by utilizing self-leadership.