The Effect of Grit and Metacognition of Pre-service Early Childhood Teachers on Self-Directed Learning Ability

The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of pre-service early childhood teachers' grit and metacognition on self-directed learning ability. The subjects of this study were 176 students who were majoring in early childhood education at 4-year universities in G Metropolitan City and N City. Data were collected through study tools of ‘grit', ‘metacognition' and ‘self-directed learning ability', and collected data were verified through frequency analysis, reliability analysis, descriptive statistics, Pearson correlation analysis and stepwise multiple regression analysis. The findings of this study were as follows. First, there was a statistically significant positive correlation between the grit, metacognition, and self-directed learning ability of pre-service early childhood teachers'. Second, it was found that the metacognitive-control and grit of pre-service early childhood teachers had a significant effect on self-directed learning ability. Therefore, it was necessary to understand and level of metacognitive-control and grit in order to improve self-directed learning ability of pre-service early childhood teachers’.