Gwangju Metropolitan Office of Education Focuses on Strengthening Teacher Competencies to Support Early Childhood Psychological and Emotional Development

'Training Conducted Ahead of Expansion of "Growing Our Children's Happy Hearts"

Full Expansion to 7,000 Five-Year-Old Kindergarten Children This Year'

The Gwangju Metropolitan Office of Education is focusing on strengthening teacher capabilities ahead of the full expansion of the early childhood psychological and emotional development support project.

On the 31st, the Gwangju Office of Education announced that on the 29th, it conducted a teacher capacity-building training session in preparation for the full implementation of the early childhood psychological and emotional development support project, "Woori Ai Ma-eum Haengbok Kium," for 5-year-olds.

"Woori Ai Ma-eum Haengbok Kium" is a pledge of Superintendent Lee Jeong-seon of the 4th term. The project helps promote healthy growth in young children by assessing their psychological and emotional development status and early identifying and supporting children in the "interest group."

During the pilot operation last year, a total of 588 children from 14 public and 12 private kindergartens participated, with 25 children in the interest group receiving counseling and treatment support.

Parent counseling was also conducted simultaneously, achieving a satisfaction rate of 81.8%. This year, the program will be fully expanded to approximately 7,000 5-year-old children enrolled in kindergartens.

This training was organized to strengthen the capabilities of the responsible teachers in line with this year's expansion. The lecture content was designed to provide practical assistance in assessing and educating young children, including the use of assessment tools, perspectives on child observation, and understanding developmental characteristics during early childhood.

Through this training, teachers are expected to understand the purpose of the assessments and acquire specific methods to select and support children in the interest group.

Superintendent Lee Jeong-seon said, "The first step of Gwangju education is kindergarten. For young children to grow up healthy and happy, warm attention and professional support from teachers are necessary," adding, "We will continue to implement diverse and detailed policies to support early childhood psychological and emotional development."