The meaning of pre-service early childhood special education teachers’ entangled art education experience with materials

The purpose of this study was to qualitatively explore how pre-service early childhood special education teachers formed practical experiences that expanded their educational thinking and supported their becoming as teachers through relationships with various materials during an early childhood art education course. The participants were 19 fourth-year students in the Department of Early Childhood Special Education at D University in Gyeongsan. As part of the course, they engaged in an activity called “Thinking with Materials,” where they encountered commonly used materials in early childhood settings such as tape, glue, paper, natural objects, and tissue. Through exploration and entanglement with these materials, participants shared their emotions and thoughts via journals, presentations, photos taken during class, the researcher’s observation notes, and informal interviews. The data were analyzed through open coding. The results showed that tape led participants to shift their perception from ‘connection’ to ‘boundary’ and reflect on the modes of teacher intervention through the flow of unplanned creation. Glue embodied the sensation of slowness and traces, allowing them to internalize the time of waiting and relational engagement. Paper evoked inner memories through experiences of rupture and crumpling, leading to the reconstruction of creative processes. Natural materials nurtured attitudes of building relationships with unfamiliar elements, and tissue brought about reflections on vanishing presence and discomfort with social norms, evoking a sense of deconstruction and acceptance. These findings suggest that early childhood art education can move beyond technical skill acquisition to become a space for flexible thinking and attitudes in teacher development through material-mediated experiences. This study contributes to suggesting a practical direction for teacher education that embraces the diverse sensory characteristics of young children.