A Study on the Core Competencies of Early Childhood Teachers Between Kindergarten and Childcare Teachers Analysis of Differences in Perception and Educational Needs

This study was conducted to analyze whether there is a difference in perceptionand educational needs of early childhood teachers about the core competencies required for future early childhood education for kindergarten teachers and childcare teachers. To this end,a total of 138 kindergarten teachers and 64 daycare center teachers from early childhoodeducation institutions located in Gwangju and Jeollanam-do were surveyed to analyze thedifference in importance-performance and educational needs using the locus for focus model. The results are as follows. First, both kindergarten teachers and childcare teachers recognizedthat the level of implementation was lower than the importance of core competencies. Second,kindergarten teachers and childcare teachers had high educational needs for core competenciesrelated to infant understanding and guidance and teaching personality traits. In addition,kindergarten teachers prioritized the operation and evaluation of infant curriculum and teacherprofessional development, while childcare teachers prioritized teaching personality and classmanagement rather than the ability to implement early childhood curriculum (play support,teaching and learning process). Based on the above research results, educational implicationsfor fostering integrated early childhood teachers and developing a curriculum for retentionintegration were proposed