유치원에서 발생하는 유아안전사고에 대한 교사의 인식 및 요구 탐색: 사회심리학적 관점을 바탕으로

초록

This study was designed to explore child safety and the prevention of accidents in kindergarten through the eyes of early childhood teachers with analysis of social and psychological aspects. The five teachers, who have been working or retired at/from the private kindergarten located in, an upper class-income area of Seoul, were individually interviewed with in-depth questions, and observed in natural class settings. Major themes emerged from the analysis of the observations and the individual interviews. First, teachers recognized that accidents were inevitable due to the nature of young children’s development such as exploring new things or immaturity in physical balancing and cognition, and occurs in all aspects of daily routines. Teachers applied strict assessment criteria regarding the accidents on themselves; meanwhile the criteria were functioning as driving forces to grow their professionality. Second, these teachers' perceptions on the accidents were formed complexly by both social and/or psychological factors. Third, teachers expressed their needs in physical, environmental, human, educational, and social aspects related to child safety and the prevention of accidents. Based on the above results, the authors of this study produced the structure of teachers' perceptions about child safety and accidents and suggested some future directions for our society as well as in the professional field. We hope this study will improve the understanding about teachers struggling for the improvement of child safety in their daily lives, and also it will be a small stepping stone in establishing a support system for them.

키워드