Yu Hae Min, Cho Yu Jin, Kim Hyun Jeong, Kim Jin H, Bae Jee Hyun
Missouri State University, Springfield, MO USA.
Sungkyul University, Anyang, Gyeonggi South Korea.
Early Child Educ J. 2021;49(6):1141-1154. doi: 10.1007/s10643-021-01239-5. Epub 2021 Aug 12.
This study of South Korea's response to COVID-19 has three purposes. First, it uses document analysis to examine policies, strategies, and resources offered by the South Korean government and public organizations to support young children and families during the first 6 months of the pandemic. Next, it uses open-ended surveys with 30 directors of early childhood institutions to explore institutional-level supports and needs during the pandemic. Finally, it looks at the discrepancies between stated policies outlining the South Korea's response to COVID-19 and the lived experiences of early childhood educators as a route to arriving at recommendations for education policymakers and other stakeholders. To that end, we reviewed government documents (n = 84) containing early childhood education-related responses to Covid-19 established by the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Health and Welfare, and other relevant government sectors. An online survey with 17 kindergarten and 13 child care center directors was also analyzed. Using content analysis, the findings revealed that the government's policies and guidance for Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) as well as the institutional supports for children and families were overall comprehensive in its scope. The analysis, based on the five tenets of the Whole Child approach, also indicated that the government's policy responses and services for ECEC focused mainly on the 'Safe' and 'Supported' tenets, while 'Challenged' was given the least amount of consideration. The survey responses demonstrated different measures taken by kindergartens and child care centers highlighting the separate nature of 'education' and 'care' in South Korea, while also indicating limited resources for supporting children's psychological well-being and for children and families in need. This overview provides a foundation for further discussion and research on the impact of Covid-19 on ECEC in South Korea and beyond.
这项关于韩国应对新冠疫情的研究有三个目的。首先，它通过文献分析来审视韩国政府和公共组织在疫情头6个月为幼儿及家庭提供的政策、策略和资源。其次，它对30名幼儿机构负责人进行开放式调查，以探究疫情期间机构层面的支持措施和需求。最后，它考察韩国应对新冠疫情的既定政策与幼儿教育工作者的实际经历之间的差异，以此为教育政策制定者和其他利益相关者提出建议。为此，我们查阅了教育部、卫生与福利部以及其他相关政府部门制定的84份包含与新冠疫情相关的幼儿教育应对措施的政府文件。还分析了一项针对17名幼儿园园长和13名儿童保育中心主任的在线调查。通过内容分析，研究结果显示，政府关于幼儿教育与保育（ECEC）的政策和指导以及对儿童和家庭的机构支持在范围上总体较为全面。基于全人教育方法的五项原则进行的分析还表明，政府对ECEC的政策回应和服务主要侧重于“安全”和“得到支持”这两项原则，而“受到挑战”这一原则得到的考虑最少。调查回复展示了幼儿园和儿童保育中心采取的不同措施，凸显了韩国“教育”和“保育”的分离性质，同时也表明在支持儿童心理健康以及帮助有需要的儿童和家庭方面资源有限。这一概述为进一步讨论和研究新冠疫情对韩国及其他地区幼儿教育与保育的影响奠定了基础。
