Analysis of Differences in Language Expression and Self-Esteem of 5-year-old Children According to Language Control Type of Early Childhood Teachers

The purpose of this study was to analyze the differences in language expression and self-esteem among 5-year-old children according to the language control type used by early childhood teachers. The subjects of the study were 236 5-year-old children and 43 homeroom teachers of 236 early childhood education institutions located in K City and P City, Gyeongsangbuk-do. The study was conducted for a total of 6 weeks from July 20 to September 7, 2022. The early childhood teachers were assessed for their language control type, and the 5-year-old children were evaluated for their language expression and self-esteem. The results of this study are as follows. First, as a result of examining the differences in the language expression ability of 5-year-old children according to the language control type of the early childhood teacher, the language expression ability of the children was the highest when the language control type of the early childhood teacher was personality control, followed by positional control and imperative control. Second, upon examining the difference in self-esteem among 5-year-old children according to the language control type of the early childhood teacher, the children’s self-esteem was highest when the language control type was personality-based control, followed by positional control and command control. Additionly, when the early childhood teacher exercised personality-based control, the sub-items of the children's self-esteem, such as competence and sense of belonging, were higher. When command control was high, competence and sense of belonging were the lowest. The results of this study suggest that the language control type of the early childhood teacher is a variable that has an important influence on the development of language expression and self-esteem of 5-year-old children.