A Study on the Pre-service Kindergarten Teachers’ Image of Kindergarten Teacher

The purpose of this study the images of kindergarten teachers thought bypre-service kindergarten teachers and whether the images of kindergarten teachers thought bypre-service kindergarten teachers change during the teacher training period. In this study, datawere collected through picture metaphors from 42 early childhood education students in thefirst semester of the first year and the first semester of the fourth year. The results of thestudy are as follows. First, the external images of kindergarten teachers thought by prospective early childhood teachers were ‘smiling’, ‘playing with children’, and ‘observingand supporting’, and the internal images of kindergarten teachers were ‘personal qualities’,‘professional competency’, and ‘professional attitudes’. Second, during the teacher trainingperiod, prospective early childhood teachers further consolidated ‘personal qualities’ amonginternal images and became to perceive ‘professional attitudes’ highly. Third, compared to thefirst grade, the fourth grade showed more complex images. With regard to the reason why theimages of kindergarten teachers changed, prospective early childhood teachers answered that‘major learning’ and ‘practical experience’ were important factors. Centering on the studyresults as such, a plan to support image formation that can help understanding teachers’ rolesin kindergarten teacher training was proposed.