This study aims to examine how childcare teachers’ adult attahcment and teacher sensitivity affect teacher-child interaction and how teacher sensitivity has a mediating influence on the relationship between childcare teachers’ adult attachment and teacher-child interaction.
For this purpose, three hundred and twenty childcare teachers in Andong-city were surveyed and 310 out of 316 cases were analyzed.
The data for teacher-child interaction was collected through the questionnaire of ''The interaction Scale'' invented by Lim Ok-Hee and Lee Jin Sook(2006), while the data for childcare teachers'' adult attachment was collected through the questionnaire of ECR-Revised which Kim Sung-Hyun(2004) adapted from ECR-R(Fraley, Brennan & Waller, 2000). For the data collection of teacher sensitivity, ''The Sensitive Scale of Childcare Teachers'' by Min Kwoung-Mi(2014) was used.
All the collected data was analyzed with descriptive statics and t-tests. In order to verify the effect of childcare teachers’ attachment on teacher-child interaction and the mediating effects of teacher sensitivity, I conducted a multiple regression analysis on the variables. The mediating effects of teacher sensitivity were investigated through Sobel test(1982).
The results were as follows.
First, teacher sensitivity and teacher-child interaction were widely different depending on teacher''s age and marital status. Married teachers'' sensitivity and interaction with children were higher than unmarried teachers’. Also, the sensitivity of relatively older teachers was higher than the sensitivity of younger teachers’. And older teachers’ interaction with children was more active than younger teachers’.
Second, the relationship between adult attachment and teacher sensitivity was found to be negatively correlated. In other words, teachers with unstable attachment were less sensitive and had less interaction with children.
Third, age and adult attachment variables showed significant negative impact on teacher-child interaction except for teachers’ marital and parental status.
Fourth, with the exception of age, marital status, and parental status as control variables, teacher sensitivity variables had a significant effect on teacher-child interaction.
As a result, when teacher sensitivity mediates the effects of childcare teachers’ adult attachment on teacher-child interaction, the negative influence of teachers’ unstable adult attachment on teacher-child interaction could be reduced. In that case, teacher sensitivity acts as a perfect mediator.