The meaning of picture book reading activities for infants and toddlers to pre-service early childhood teachers

This study sought to examine the meaning that the experience of reading picture books in the infant class gave to pre-service early childhood teachers. The subjects of this study are two public daycare centers located in Nam-gu, G Metropolitan City, and classes for 1-2 year olds. The study participants were 10 first to third grade students attending the Department of Early Childhood Education at G University. Data analysis was conducted through the process of data integration, domain analysis, data classification, and interpretation of classified content based on the collected journals of pre-service early childhood teachers. As a result of the study, the meaning of the experience of pre-service early childhood teachers' picture book reading activities for infants was categorized into ‘the joy of novelty and challenge in the role of teacher’, ‘gift-like interaction time with infants’, ‘growth and development’, and ‘confidence through self-reflection’. In this way, activities linked to the early childhood education field provide prospective early childhood teachers with the ability to understand infants and recognize their value. In the process of preparing and executing the activity, infant development and developmental characteristics related to the activity are connected and analyzed after the activity. This can be an experience that supports the improvement of one's teaching abilities and allows one to develop into a better teacher. In this context, field-linked activities can be said to be an effective means that can have an effective and positive impact on the teacher training process and foster teachers with practical capabilities.