Objective: The purpose of this study was to investigate the moderate effect
of the physical environmental-level between infant teachers' positive play
beliefs and teacher-infant interaction.
Methods: The subjects of this study were 483 teachers in charge of oneyear-
old and two-year-old infants in child care centers located in metropolitan
areas. The data were collected by asking the teachers to respond to a
questionnaire and the data collected were analyzed through correlation and
hierarchical multi- regression analysis.
Results: First, the positive play beliefs of the infant teacher, the physical
environment level, and the teacher-infant interaction showed significant
proportional correlations. Second, the physical environment level moderated
the influence of the teacher's positive play beliefs on teacher-infant interaction.
In particular, results showed that functional interior space configuration,
outdoor playground composition and facilities among the sub-variables of the
physical environment level had a moderating effect.
Conclusion/Implications: The results of this study show that teachers with
positive play beliefs have positive teacher-infant interaction when there is
sufficient space available for infants and teachers. This indicates that the
human and physical environments of child care centers can promote teacherchild
interaction.