The purpose of this study was to examine the overall process of transforming the selected class, Haesalban into a multicultural early childhood classroom. The multicultural classroom was observed before a collaborative action research was implemented. A collaborative action research was conducted by the classroom teacher and the researcher together to find a better way to transform the class into a multicultural early childhood classroom in the process of planning, acting-out, reflection and re-acting-out.
It was analyzed that how the Haesalban had gradually moved into a multicultural early childhood classroom by the collaborative action research. The specific research questions are as follows:
1. What is the situation of the Haesalban as a place of multicultural education before the collaborative action research is conducted?
2. How is the overall process of the collaborative action conducted with the purpose of transforming a multicultural early childhood classroom?
3. What transformation a multicultural early childhood classroom does the Haesalban make through this collaborative action research?
To address the research questions, the necessity and practical effect of field application and the appropriateness of the study were checked by analyzing relevant literature, observing early childhood classrooms and visiting classes in public libraries in and after January, 2011. And then a collaborative action research was conducted by this teacher and the researcher in charge of the Haesalban for age 5 in a child-care center located in Pusan metropolitan city from February to November, 2012.
The major findings of the study on the research questions were as follows:
Regarding Research Question 1 about the situation of the class as a multicultural early childhood classroom, that was largely categorized into two: the reality of multicultural education and the limited contextual classroom factors both internally and externally. The reality of multicultural education was subcategorized into three: the prior understanding of the teacher, the implementation of multicultural education, and the difficulties of the teacher. There was some major problems in the implementation of multicultural education, which should be redressed through this collaborative action research, and the teacher had a misconception of multicultural education. As for the limited internal and external factors of the classroom context, the preschoolers looked at their peers from multicultural families in a negative way, and there was lack of interaction between internal and external classroom components. The teacher and this researcher made a collaborative action research to tide over these difficulties to turn the class into a multicultural early childhood classroom.
Concerning Research Question 2, the teacher and this researcher agreed to the necessity of mutual understanding, and both tried to build a rapport, to acquire communicative skills and to have an emotional bond. We discussed what a multicultural early childhood classroom should be like, planned how to create a multicultural classroom and decided what roles each of us should perform. Six action plans were mapped out to create a multicultural early childhood classroom: the awareness shift of the teacher and the improvement of her capabilities, the utilization of various effective teaching media, teaching diverse things related to daily life, the change of preschooler awareness, building cooperative relationships with human resources available, and keeping in mind the importance of local community and cooperating with it.
The action plans were carried out in order by the teacher and this researcher together, and we reflected on what we had done and then carried out the plans again. We tried to value and respect each other on an equal footing.
As for Research Question 3 about the change of the Haesalban into a multicultural early childhood classroom, the first change was that the preschoolers tried to understand diversity and admit cultural specificity generated from the classroom. They said the word fairness frequently and started to look and think critically. Their teacher defied her own hidden sense of privilege, and some of the preschoolers who especially teased or neglected their peers from multicultural families gradually started to understand ''difference'' and treat them as good friends. Specifically, Nayoung and Youna gradually began to build their own identity. Contrary to her behavior at the onset of the research, the teacher started to be aware of the value of collaboration with diverse ecological environments(principal, colleagues, parents and local institutions) and to actually cooperate with them. At the same time, however, there was still room for improvement in the classroom.
Given the findings of the study, there are some suggestions:
First, It was the teacher herself who performed the pivotal role in the creation of a multicultural early childhood classroom. The Haesalban could become a multicultural early childhood classroom primarily owing to the sustained efforts of the teacher as an implementor and her improved capabilities.
Second, teachers should try to make use of a wide variety of teaching media, teach diverse things and extend their professional horizon to create a multicultural early childhood classroom instead of merely ending up consulting existing materials or literature, and appropriate teacher education should be provided as well.
Third, the kind of climate that stresses fairness and a critical mind should be generated in the multicultural early childhood classroom. Every classroom member including teacher should make a concerted effort to do that, and colleges of education that foster early childhood teachers should try to create this kind of climate as well.
Fourth, It should be avoided to look at multicultural families and their preschool children from a perspective of a cultural deficit model. The way of looking at them should be changed, and their cultural specificity should be acknowledged. Everybody who is around preschoolers from multicultural families should deal with them in a coherent manner in order to help facilitate their identity building.
Fifth, positive interaction between the internal and external classroom components is vital for the generation of a multicultural early childhood classroom. In particular, teachers should serve as agents who step up network building among early childhood education institutions, families and local community.
Sixth, the cooperation between the teacher and this researcher made it possible to make a collaborative action research, and that brought a change to the Haesalban and exerted a positive influence on the growth of the teacher and this researcher. Finally, as a collaborative researcher, I expect the expansion and application of collaborative action research to the multicultural early childhood classroom. For expansion, various external support systems including a collaborative action research should be recursively offered to the early childhood classroom.