The Effect of Childhood Teachers’ Play Sensitivity on Teacher-Child Interaction : The Serial Multiple Mediation Effect of Play Support Efficacy and Supporting Play Competency

This study aimed to examine the effect of early childhood teachers’ playsensitivity on teacher-child interaction and to verify the serial multiple mediationeffects of play support efficacy and supporting play competency. The participantswere 218 early childhood teachers from Seoul and Gyeonggi Province, and the datawere analyzed using serial multiple mediation analysis within a structural equationmodeling framework. The results were as follows. First, direct effects were foundamong teachers’ play sensitivity, play support efficacy, supporting play competency,and teacher-child interaction. Second, play support efficacy and supporting playcompetency each mediated the effect of teachers’ play sensitivity on teacher-childinteraction. Third, a serial multiple mediation effect of play support efficacy andsupporting play competency was identified in this relationship. These findingssuggest the need for integrated teacher education programs that strengthen playsensitivity, efficacy, and competency in a connected manner and proposecollaborative reflection meetings that provide peer feedback on teachers’ strengthsas a practical approach applicable in the field.