The Meaning of Pre-Service Early Childhood Teachers’ Experiences Participating in Practical Approaches to Character Education Reflecting Character Virtues in Daily Life

This study aimed to explore the meanings constructed by pre-service early childhood teachers as they reflected on character virtues derived from their daily lives and expanded these virtues into practical strategies for early childhood character education. The research was conducted within the framework of a logic and writing course, during which participants verbalized their personal character experiences, shared them through group discussions and peer dialogues, and engaged in the development and mock implementation of play-based character education lesson plans for young children. Data sources included reflective journals, group discussion transcripts, lesson plans, and in-depth interview data, all of which were analyzed qualitatively. The findings revealed that participants reinterpreted their daily life experiences to recognize and reconstruct character virtues and internalized these through reflective writing, discussion, and engagement in character education. They came to understand that a teacher’s behavior itself functions as a central medium for young children’s character development, and they acknowledged the interconnected nature of character virtues, recognizing the need for an integrative rather than singular approach to value transmission. This study suggests that structured reflection on personal experience can serve as a powerful foundation for enhancing pre-service teachers’ practical capacity for character pedagogy and shaping their educational philosophy, offering meaningful implications for the design of teacher education curricula.