• Korean Journal of Childcare and Education
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• v.14 no.3
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• pp.97-115
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• 2018

Objective: This study aimed to analyse the influence of young children's playfulness at home and class characteristics on their playfulness at kindergarten. Methods: Twenty eight classes of 3, 4 and 5 year olds in Gyeonggi and Chungbuk provinces were recruited. Participants of this study were mothers and head teachers of the children of recruited classes. Analyses was implemented using hierarchical linear modeling with HLM 7.0. Results: Differences were found in children's playfulness at kindergarten according to their classes. Individual characteristics including, gender, age and playfulness at home were shown to have significant influences on playfulness at kindergarten, while relevance of variable class characteristics to playfulness at kindergarten was not observed. Conclusion/Implications: It is concluded that playfulness of children is more related to playfulness at home rather than class characteristics, implying the strong characteristic of playfulness as an individual trait.

• Korean Journal of Childcare and Education
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• v.16 no.4
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• pp.31-49
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• 2020

Objective: The purpose of this study was to examine cluster types according to the playfulness factors of young children and to predict the character strengths of young children which have an influence on the types of children's playfulness. Methods: Playfulness and character strength tests were administered to 237 young children. The playfulness groups were classified by cluster analysis and the logistic regression analysis. It was used to find the character strengths of young children that have a effect on the types of children's playfulness. Results: First, the children's playfulness groups were divided into a high playfulness group and a low playfulness group. Second, there was a significant difference in all character strengths according to the children's playfulness cluster, and the high playfulness group was statistically significantly high in all character strengths. Third, the children's character strengths influencing the high playfulness group were vitality and positivity, self-regulation, self-esteem, and sensibility. Conclusion/Implications: Based on these results, the necessity of supporting these character strengths was discussed in order to improve the playfulness of children in the education field.

• Korean Journal of Child Studies
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• v.26 no.5
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• pp.89-104
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• 2005

Ecological predictors of imaginative playfulness were researched to test relationships among preschoolers' individual characteristics, socioeconomic status, their visual media use, and their imaginative playfulness. Data were collected from 202 primary caregivers and head teachers in childcare centers in Michigan, U. S. A. Use of visual media was coded by the program categorization of Anderson et al. (2001) and the Television and Movie Violence Rating Scale (Huesmann et al. 2003). Imaginative playfulness was rated by the adapted Playfulness Scale (Barnett 1990). Results of hierarchical regression showed that child characteristics of age and gender predictors contributed to their imaginative playfulness. On the other hand, children's visual media use and socioeconomic status of their families did not predict their imaginative playfulness.

• Korean Journal of Child Studies
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• v.27 no.4
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• pp.103-116
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• 2006

This study examined gender differences of the effect of playfulness on the social skills of young children. The subjects were 242 4- to 6-year-old children at five nursery schools and kindergartens. Results showed that playfulness influenced social skills of young children. In particular, young children's playfulness was a more effective variable of assertion than self-control, cooperation and responsibility. Cognitive spontaneity and social spontaneity were the most effective variable of social skills. Playfulness had variable influences on social skills by gender: Among boys, playfulness was a less effective variable of cooperation than the other variables of social skills. Among girls, playfulness was a less effective variable of self-control than other variables of social skills.

• Korean Journal of Child Studies
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• v.31 no.2
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• pp.53-68
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• 2010

The purpose of this study was to explore the relationship between children's playfulness, the degree of preschool adjustment and behavior problems. The subjects were 118 children from 3 child care centers and 5 kindergartens in Kyungbuk province. Children's playfulness was measured through the children's playfulness scale (CPS) and the level of preschool adjustment was measured through the preschool adjustment questionnaire (PAQ). The modified version of Kim's (2000) Preschool Behavior Questionnaire (PBQ), created by Behar and Stringfield (1974) was used to measure the acceptability of children's behaviors. The regression and correlation analysis was performed through the use of SPSS 12, and the findings are as follows. First, there exists a meaningful correlation between the children's playfulness, the degree of preschool adjustment, and the acceptability of behavior problems. Second, the degree of preschool adjustment appears to be a reliable predictor of children's playfulness.

• Korean Journal of Human Ecology
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• v.23 no.4
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• pp.571-585
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• 2014

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of playfulness, play support beliefs and parenting stress on intimate parenting in the mothers of young children by maternal employment. In order to achieve this, 405 mothers of young children, aged 3-5 years old, participated in a self-reported survey. The data was analyzed by descriptive statistics using SPSS 19.0 and structural equation modeling and multigroup analysis using AMOS 21.0. The results of this study showed that the mothers' support beliefs and parenting stress mediated both playfulness and intimate parenting irrespective of maternal employment. Interestingly, the unemployed mothers' playfulness had direct effects on intimate parenting whereas the playfulness of the employed mothers did not. Lastly, the effects of the mothers' play support beliefs, playfulness, and parenting stress on intimate parenting did not differ between employed and unemployed mothers.

• Korean Journal of Child Studies
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• v.37 no.2
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• pp.1-11
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• 2016

Objective: This study examined how child care teachers' playfulness and recognition of music and movement relate to their teaching intention of music and movement. Methods: Participants were 200 child care teachers in Seoul, Incheon and Gyeonggi areas. The data were analyzed for descriptive statistics, pearson's correlation analysis, hierarchical multiple regression analysis, and sobel test. Results: The main results were as follows: First, child care teachers' playfulness, teaching intention of music and movement and their recognition of music and movement were positively correlated. Second, child care teachers' playfulness influenced on their teaching intention of music and movement. Finally, teachers' recognition of music and movement mediated the relationship between teachers' playfulness and their teaching intention of music and movement. Conclusion: This study showed that teachers' playfulness influenced on their positive recognition of music and movement activities, which was the variable that caused mediation in the teachers' playfulness and their teaching attention.

• Korean Journal of Childcare and Education
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• v.12 no.2
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• pp.219-238
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• 2016

The purposes of this study were to examine relations among attachment security, playfulness, and social competence during the preschool period and to investigate relative effects of attachment security and playfulness on preschoolers' social competence. A total of forty eight 4-year-old preschool children participated in the current study. Attachment security was assessed using the Attachment Q-sort during a two- or two and half hour home visit. Preschoolers' playfulness and social competence were evaluated by mothers. First, preschoolers' attachment security was significantly associated with their interpersonal adjustment. Preschoolers with secure attachment were rated by their mothers as having higher interpersonal adjustment. In addition, preschoolers' playfulness was significantly related to popularity/leadership and social participation. Second, when preschoolers' attachment security and playfulness were entered together to predict social competence, attachment security and sense of humor were significant predictors of preschoolers' interpersonal adjustment, and social and cognitive spontaneity significantly predicted popularity/leadership. With respect to social participation, preschoolers' physical spontaneity was a significant predictor. Findings of this study indicate that attachment security and playfulness tap into different aspects of social competence, suggesting that both are needed to be emphasized in the development of social competence during the preschool period.

• Korean Journal of Child Studies
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• v.36 no.3
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• pp.155-174
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• 2015

This study examined the structural relationships among the child's playfulness, self-regulation, and ego-resilience. Through an examination of these relationship, this research aimed to analyze the direct and indirect influences of the child's playfulness on self-regulation and ego-resilience. The participants of this study consisted of 359 children attending kindergartens in the Seoul and Gyeonggi-do area. The sample was analyzed using the SPSS 21.0, AMOS 21.0, and Maximum Likelihood method (ML). The significance of the indirect effects was tested by means of bootstrapping. The results of this study were as follows: (i) the child's playfulness had a direct influence on relational ego-resilience; (ii) the child's playfulness directly affected self-regulation; (iii) the child's self-regulation directly affected relational and aptitudinal ego-resilience; and (iv) the child's playfulness was indirectly influential to relational resilience and resilient competency through self-regulation. The discussion also took into account the specific methods which can be used to enhance the child's playfulness and self-regulation.

• Korean Journal of Childcare and Education
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• v.17 no.2
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• pp.103-120
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• 2021

Objective: This study explored the effect of childcare teacher's playfulness on burnout through ego-resiliency. Methods: The participants of this study were 265 childcare teachers working at childcare centers. Data was collected through questionnaire on teacher's palyfulness, ego-resiliency and burnout were analyzed with descriptive statistics and Pearson's correlation analysis using AMOS 10.0 and SPSS 21.0. The path included in the study model was verified by Structural Equation Modeling(SEM) and for the analysis of the mediating effect, Bootstrapping was used. Results: First, childcare teachers' playfulness had a negative influence on burnout. Second, childcare teachers' ego-resiliency had a negative influence on burnout. Third, childcare teachers' playfulness had a positive influence on ego-resiliency. Fourth, childcare teachers' playfulness had an indirect effect on burnout through ego-resiliency. The effect of childcare teachers' playfulness on their burnout was completely mediated by ego-resiliency. Conclusion/Implications: When developing a program to intervene in the burnout of childcare teachers, there needs to be more concern about ego-resiliency than playfulness.