The purpose of this study was to analyze the differences between student teachers and mentors in assessing activities. The participants of the study were 67 student teachers and 67 mentors in kindergarten. We collected their assessment data and analyzed the data using a text network analysis. The types of activities analyzed were story-telling, fairy tales, singing, and games.
The results of the study are as follows. Different assessment contents appeared by activity types. The student teachers and the mentors focused on the interest of young children in story-telling, on the story recalling in fairy tales, on the lyrics memory of young children and accompaniment in singing, and on the rules in games. Both the student teachers and the mentors considered the ‘concentration’ and ‘interest’ of young children as the most important assessment factors. The student teachers assessed their activities using emotional words such as 'embarrassment', 'confusion', and 'sorry'. Therefore, it is necessary to provide psychological support for student teachers during the teaching practice period. When the mentors assessed the activities of student teachers, they provided specific examples and detailed information.
The study has implications that it is necessary to establish a system to support student teachers to obtain teacher competency while they are practicing. In addition, in order for mentors to be able to lead student teachers, kindergartens, education offices, universities, and other related institutions should provide support.