The Dual Mediating Effect of Curriculum Operation Autonomy and Playfulness in the Relationship between Early Childhood Teachers' Digital Competency and Digital Play Support Competency

The purpose of this study is to verify the dual mediating effect of curriculum operation autonomy and playfulness in the relationship between early childhood teachers' digital competencies and digital play support competencies. The survey was conducted using Naver Forms and direct distribution to early childhood teachers. Data were collected from the 282 returned questionnaires and analyzed using the SPSS 27.0 program and Process Macro 6. The results of this study are as follows. First, early childhood teachers' digital play support competencies positively correlated with digital competencies, curriculum operation autonomy, and playfulness, and there was a positive correlation among digital competencies, curriculum operation autonomy, and playfulness. Secondly, in the relationship between early childhood teachers' digital competency and digital play support competency, curriculum operation autonomy alone was not significant as a mediating effect. However, the dual mediating effect through playfulness was significant. The research results suggest that efforts to improve early childhood teachers' playfulness and curriculum operation autonomy are required to enhance their digital play support capabilities.