Korean Early Childhood Teachers’ Perceptions of the Importance and Performance of the “Play Environment”

The purpose of this research is to analyze the factors that need to be improved to provide the quality play environment in early childhood education (ECE). This study is designed to examine the differences between the importance and performance of the play environment as perceived by early childhood teachers in Korea. For the analysis, the play environment was divided into “environment giving comfort,” “environment supporting child-initiated learning,” “environment fostering aesthetic sensitivity,” and “environment fostering creativity.” A total of 277 early childhood teachers completed the online questionnaire, and the data obtained were analyzed based on mean, standard deviation, paired-sample t-test, and importance-performance analysis. Results indicate that, first, the importance of the play environment was statistically significantly higher than performance across all areas. Second, the area where the current situation can be maintained was “environment giving comfort.” The areas requiring intensive improvement were “environment supporting child-initiated learning” and “environment fostering aesthetic sensitivity.” The area requiring gradual improvement was “environment fostering creativity.” The findings from this study have implication in providing effective play environments in ECE institutions.