The difficulties and values of 'group tasks' experienced by pre-service teacher in teacher training course for early childhood education

This study aims to explore the challenges and values experienced by pre-service teachers concerning activity 'group tasks' in early childhood teacher training courses and to seek implications for implementing group tasks. The participants were 15 pre-service teachers and 5 in-service teachers enrolled in the early childhood teacher training course at a four-year university in Seoul, and data were collected through focus group interviews. The data were categorized through transcription, keyword extraction, and classification. The findings indicate, first, that pre-service early childhood teachers reported difficulties in collaboration due to challenges in team formation, such as dealing with unfamiliarity and unpredictability, scheduling issues like arranging meetings and missing deadlines, communication problems among team members, and conflicts arising from differences in attitudes and competencies. Second, the values assigned to group tasks by pre-service teachers included enhanced learning outcomes through the use of collective intelligence, improvement in communication, collaboration, conflict resolution, and organizational skills, as well as strengthened practical abilities in curriculum planning, classroom interaction, daily life guidance, and parent counseling as early childhood educators. These results serve as foundational data to support professors in providing specific and systematic assistance to alleviate the challenges pre-service teachers experience with group tasks and to enhance their educational value.