The influence of Korean preschool teachers’ work environments and self-efficacy on children’s peer play interactions: the mediating effect of teacher–child interactions

The present study investigated the structural relationships between Korean preschool teachers’ work environments, self-efficacy, and children’s peer play interactions; it also examined the mediating influence of teacher–child interactions on these relationships. This study performed SEM analysis on 1193 teachers’ survey responses from the 2014 Panel Study on Korean Children. The results showed that, first, teachers’ self-efficacy not only directly influenced teacher–child interactions but also influenced children’s peer play interactions through teacher–child interactions. Second, teachers’ work environments not only directly influenced teacher–child interactions, but also influenced children’s peer play interactions (mediated by teacher–child interactions). Third, teacher–child interactions had a direct effect on children’s peer play interactions. The paper concludes with a discussion of the implications of the influence of Korean preschool teachers’ work environments and self-efficacy on children’s peer play interactions, mediated by teacher–child interactions.