The Relationship between Pre-service Early Childhood Teacher’s Critical Thinking Skills, Creative Personality, Thinking and Problem Solving Ability

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between critical thinking skills, creative personality, thinking and problem-solving ability of pre-service early childhood teachers. The subjects were 239 pre-service early childhood teachers in Gwangju and Daejeon. The collected data were analyzed by Pearson’s r and multiple regression using the SPSS/PC Computer Program. The major results of this study were as follows: First, a significant positive relationship was found between critical thinking skills, creative personality, and the thinking and problem-solving abilities of pre-service early childhood teachers. Second, pre-service early childhood teachers’ creative personality, thinking, and problem-solving ability were positive factors in predicting critical thinking skills. In conclusion, the results of this study confirmed that the creative personality, thinking and problem-solving abilities of pre-service early childhood teachers are important factors in predicting critical thinking skills. Implications for future research and practices are currently being discussed.