ABSTRACT

The Design and Application of a Mentoring Model to Reinforce Novice Kindergarten Teachers'' Competencies in the Implementation of Play-Based Curriculum

Ha Jeong-bin

Department of Early Childhood Education
Graduate School of Gangneung-Wonju National University

The purpose of this study is to increase novice kindergarten teachers'' professionalism in the implementation of a play-based curriculum through mentoring from a group of experts with abundant field experiences for the reinforcement of their competencies in the implementation of a play-based curriculum.

For this purpose, the study set the following research questions:

1. what is a mentoring model devised to reinforce novice kindergarten teachers'' competencies in the implementation of a play-based curricul um?

2. what kind of effect does the application of a mentoring plan have to reinforce novice kindergarten teachers'' competencies in the implementa tion of a play-based curriculum?

3. what changes and meanings are found in the application of mentoring to reinforce novice kindergarten teachers'' competencies in the implemen tation of a play-based curriculum?
A final draft of a mentoring model was devised through the analysis of literature and previous studies, the survey and analysis of novice teachers'' needs, and an in-depth interview with experts to implement mentoring to reinforce novice kindergarten teachers'' competencies in the implementation of play-based curriculum. The mentoring model devised in this procedure to reinforce novice kindergarten teachers'' competencies in the implementation of a play-based curriculum had the following content:
This mentoring model had the following organizational system: the objective of the present study is to enhance novice early childhood teachers'' professionalism in the implementation of a play-based curriculum through mentoring to reinforce their competencies in it. Three specific goals were set including "acquiring knowledge to reinforce competencies in the implementation of a play-based curriculum," "cultivating the ability to improve and applying difficulties with implementing a play-based curriculum through mentoring," and "developing confidence in the implementation of a play-based curriculum." The content elements of the model included the competency of understanding play, the competency of supporting play, and emotional support according to the objectives and goals of the mentoring. The final stage of the mentoring was based on a cyclic model of entering, understanding, consulting, implementing, evaluating, and continuing. Offline and online mentoring was provided through expert support staff. The offline mentoring part with an expert conducted four interviews. The online mentoring part made use of communication with a mentee via SNS, the i-Nuri portal site, a reflective journal via e-mail, a lesson log, post-play plans, digital documentation, and micro-teaching. The mentoring was evaluated by novice teachers and tested for its effects.
To examine the effects of mentoring applied to reinforce novice kindergarten teachers'' competencies in the implementation of a play-based curriculum, mentoring was provided to four novice teachers working at a public kindergarten in B and S Cities, Gyeonggi Province on April 11 ~ October 5, 2022. Four sessions of mentoring were measured in-play support efficacy, teaching efficacy for play, and professionalism in play to analyze the application effects of the mentoring. Collected data were tested for differences in the non-parametric analysis methods of the Friedman test and the Durbin-Conover post-hoc test with the Jamovi(version 2.2) program. The collection and analysis of the data offered the following results about the application effects of mentoring: the application of mentoring to reinforce novice teachers'' competencies in the implementation of a play-based curriculum had positive effects on their play support efficacy, teaching efficacy for play, and professionalism in play. There were statistically significant differences in play support efficacy, teaching efficacy for play, and professionalism in play before and after participation in mentoring. The novice teachers promoted their understanding of a play-based curriculum further through mentoring and grew more confident in the implementation methods of play according to the increasing number of mentoring sessions. And lastly, the study discussed the changes and meanings of mentoring to reinforce novice kindergarten teachers'' competencies in the implementation of a play-based curriculum:
First, the mentee teachers that participated in the study had changes to their attitude toward a play-based curriculum and became more professional through mentoring. Before mentoring began, they had only vague ideas about the implementation of a play-based curriculum and did not translate their recognized importance of implementing one into their on-site practices. After receiving mentoring from an expert, however, they developed the strength to explore solutions to various issues happening in the process of implementing a play-based curriculum.
Secondly, the mentee teachers had reflective thinking over their implementation of a play-based curriculum throughout the mentoring process. Following their reflective thinking through experts'' instant feedback based on their advice, their understanding and perceptions of a play-based curriculum changed positively. Going through the process of contemplation over plans to implement a play-based curriculum through reflective thinking and assessing themselves based on the application of experts'' advice, the teachers changed their attitude toward the implementation of a play-based curriculum and recognized its importance. These findings indicate that novice teachers enhanced their competencies in the implementation of a play-based curriculum through reflective thinking.
Finally, the mentee teachers changed their attitude toward curricular management through mentoring, and it in turn had an impact on their confidence in the implementation of a play-based curriculum.
The field-centric mentoring with expert support staff proposed in the study will offer a practical and actionable plan to support novice kindergarten teachers, who are required to make efforts to implement and improve a play-based curriculum themselves to reinforce their competencies in it. It is also needed to look for diverse supportive measures to help novice teachers have psychological stability while implementing a play-based curriculum.