Full-scale Rollout of the Program Begins This Year
In Partnership with the Korea Childcare Promotion Institute
Expansion to 300 Daycare Centers Nationwide Planned
The Samsung Welfare Foundation announced on the 23rd that it held an orientation the previous day for the principals of 300 daycare centers and approximately 600 teachers, as part of its plan to officially expand the "Samsung Diversity Respect Program" to daycare centers nationwide starting this year.
The Samsung Welfare Foundation has successfully implemented the "Samsung Diversity Respect Program" at Samsung Daycare Centers since 2020 and, after a pilot operation last year, will officially expand it to daycare centers nationwide starting this year. The photo shows the teacher orientation held on the 22nd. Photo by Samsung Welfare Foundation
The "Samsung Diversity Respect Program" is a specialized educational initiative unique to Samsung Daycare Centers. It aims to help children grow into global citizens by embracing and communicating with people of different backgrounds and experiences?such as gender, race, appearance, disability, and culture?without prejudice. In particular, the program is designed to foster teachers' awareness and practical skills so that they can understand the unique characteristics of young children and guide them with unbiased language and attitudes, as teachers have a significant influence on the formation of young children's perceptions.
The foundation developed this program and has implemented it at Samsung Daycare Centers since 2020. Reflecting feedback from the childcare sector that the introduction of diversity respect programs was urgently needed in the era of multiculturalism, a pilot operation was conducted last year in partnership with the Korea Childcare Promotion Institute at 95 daycare centers. A total of 185 principals and teachers participated in the pilot program.
Starting this year, the program will be expanded to 300 daycare centers nationwide. The program will be conducted through a total of six teacher training sessions held from the 22nd to the 30th. The first session, an orientation, was held both online and offline at the Samsung Child Education and Culture Center on the 22nd. Congratulatory remarks were delivered by Choyongnam, President of the Korea Childcare Promotion Institute, and Nam Jeomsun, Director General of Early Childhood Policy at the Ministry of Education. Shin Hyewon, professor of Child and Adolescent Education at Seokyeong University and developer of the program, emphasized in her lecture on "The Educational Value and Importance of the Samsung Diversity Respect Program" that "respect for diversity is the most essential competency for the future society, and teachers play a decisive role in instilling the value of diversity respect in young children."
Participants in the training were also given a special opportunity to visit the Leeum Museum of Art to view Pierre Huyghe's first solo exhibition in Asia, "Liminal," and the "Contemporary Art Collection Exhibition," accompanied by guided tours. After the orientation, participants will take part in five additional training sessions to understand the core concepts of diversity respect education?respect, communication, empathy, self-regulation, consideration, and courage?and to reflect on themselves as they apply these concepts in daycare settings.
Ryu Moonhyung, Executive Vice President of the Samsung Foundation, stated, "We are deeply honored to be able to expand the Samsung Daycare Center program, which teaches the core value of 'respect for diversity,' a key competency for the future society, to daycare centers nationwide. We will continue to develop and share a variety of educational programs to help young children grow up healthy in this era of low birth rates." Choyongnam, President of the Korea Childcare Promotion Institute, said, "I am truly delighted that the 'Samsung Diversity Respect Program' can once again reach childcare sites across the country this year. We will continue to listen to voices from the field in line with changing times and strive to create a childcare environment where childcare professionals can feel proud."
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