Ministry of Education Orders Service for Parent Education Plan Following Kindergarten Integration
"Parent Education Needed to Support Growth According to Early Childhood Development Stages"
The Ministry of Education is preparing an educational program for parents of young children in line with the planned implementation of the Early Childhood Education and Care Integration (Yubotonghap) scheduled for 2025. They are also considering utilizing parents with career interruptions as personnel for the integration.
According to education circles on the 20th, the Ministry of Education has commissioned a project titled "Education for Parents of Young Children with Career Interruptions and Utilization of Human Resources Following Early Childhood Education and Care Integration." The main contents will include systematizing educational content for parents of young children.
Early Childhood Education and Care Integration refers to the merging of the early childhood education system (kindergartens) and childcare system (daycare centers) into one. In line with this, a 'parent education' program was devised on the premise that parents' perceptions of their young children must change for the integration to achieve genuine effectiveness. A Ministry of Education official explained, "When kindergartens and daycare centers operate as an integrated system, not only educational institutions but also parents must cooperate so that young children can grow while receiving emotional and psychological care appropriate to their developmental stages."
In other words, the plan is to resolve side effects occurring in the education and childcare process due to parents' lack of understanding of young children through parent education. For example, it aims to prevent education that focuses solely on learning without considering the developmental stages of young children. The Ministry of Education is considering various methods according to the educational content, including face-to-face lectures and online content.
Although education for parents of young children has existed to some extent, the Ministry of Education believes improvements are necessary. An official added, "Some parent education is being conducted by institutions such as the Korea Institute of Child Care and Education and the Korea Institute of Early Childhood Education, but it is somewhat lacking in activation and systematization," and explained, "The intention is for the education offices to systematically develop and activate the program." The parent education program is expected to be introduced in line with the official start of the Early Childhood Education and Care Integration after this year's commissioned research and draft review.
The Ministry of Education is also reviewing plans to retrain parents with career interruptions and utilize them to meet the increased personnel demand arising from the integration process. According to the project directive for this commission, due to the strengthening of early childhood education and care, the demand for human resources such as care workers, assistants, and instructors is expected to increase, and the Ministry plans to enhance hiring through retraining parents with career interruptions.
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