「2019 개정 누리과정」 모니터링 및 지원방안 연구(Ⅱ)

Abstract

In order to ensure the successful implementation of the revised Nuri Curriculum, monitoring curriculum operation in kindergartens and childcare centers is necessary. With regard, Korea Institute of Child Care and Education has planned a 3 year research, 「Monitoring and Support Planning of 2019 Nuri Curriculum(2020~2022)」 to ensure the proper implementation of the revised Nuri Curriculum. This paper is the second year results of the project which focuses on monitoring teacher professionalism and curriculum operation, and proposing government and delivery system levels policies with regards to the policy direction of Nuri Curriculum settlement that was proposed in 2020, but also suggest detailed supporting measures with regards to the characteristics of kindergartens and childcare centers and teachers.

To this end, domestic and foreign literature studies, surveys and case studies were conducted. Surveys were conducted to delivery system officers, field teachers and directors, and parents. The survey for delivery system officers were conducted to 17 delivery system officers from each of the 17 local departments of education and 18 heads of local Support Centers for Childcare which provide support to childcare centers regarding childcare curriculum operation. The survey for field teachers and directors were conducted to 2,000 teachers and directors/ vice-directors from 1,000 kindergartens and childcare centers, 500 of each. The parent survey was conducted to 1,000 parents of 5 year olds attending kindergartens or childcare centers. Case studies were conducted in 6 kindergartens and 6 childcare centers with 12 directors(vice-directors) and 28 teachers, two sessions in each services.

The results obtained through the above research methods are as follows.

The Department of Education had carried out a national level project to enhance the educative power of early childhood education based on its 'Measures for Early Childhood Innovation' from 2018 to 2020 to support the implementation of the kindergarten curriculum. In 2021 the department is carrying out the project, 'Future Kindergarten Curriculum Operation Support and Education Content Development and Support'. Various sub-projects are also being conducted by local departments of education. In 2020, the most conducted project was Nuri Curriculum Consultation, which was provided through every local department. Operations of professional learning communities, teacher training, resource development and dissemination, support for improving the physical environment followed next, having been carried out in 16 local departments. Local Support Centers for Childcare in charge of supporting childcare centers also provided various support projects. The most conducted project in 2020 was teacher training provided by 16 local centers, followed by Nuri Curriculum Consultation which was provided by 12 local centers. The scale and budget of the these projects were different by each service. Local department of education officers mentioned the need for parent awareness improvement and national publicity was most needed, while heads of the local Support centers for Childcare emphasized the need for provision of teachers and expenditure for the revised Nuri Curriculum operation, revision of the service evaluation system. promotion of play centered curriculum, central government development and provision of various resources, national support to bridge regional financial gaps.

The results of the parents' survey revealed that parents' highest expectations for their children were their development of personality and attitude, followed by social skills. Parents' highest expected outcome from enrolling their children in kindergartens or childcare centers, was the development of basic self-care skills and life habits. Teachers' perceptions of the director's coaching leadership and teachers' self-evaluation of their competence in implementing the Nuri Curriculum were mostly positive. The percentage of parents who were aware of the revision of Nuri Curriculum was 62.7%, similar to last year. Most of the parents perceived that play-oriented education was necessary, however the majority had concerns about whether their children would adapt well in elementary school with play being the dominant experience during their pre-school years. It was found that 85.5% of directors and 95.4% of teachers completed the revised Nuri Curriculum related training, and 30.1% of directors and 36.0% of teachers replied that they had received supervision or consultation related to the revised Nuri Curriculum. Self-supervision was the highest with 47% of the activities teachers participated in to enhance their professionalism, however the activity most desired by the teachers was visiting other services with a percentage of 30.8. Planning on a weekly basis was dominant and recycled materials were the most common when implementing the Nuri Curriculum. The content of evaluation was mostly children's play, and the evaluations mostly conducted by recording observations. As a result of surveying parents on whether they had experienced distance parent education or suspension of service due to COVID-19, 35.9% answered that they had received distance education, and 72% had experienced service suspension. 59.5% of the parents replied that they had noticed changes due to the implementation of the revised Nuri Curriculum in kindergartens and childcare centers. Through the implementation of the revised Nuri Curriculum, the biggest change the directors and teachers perceived were in their roles. In terms of changes in young children that the teachers and directors witnessed due to the implementation of the revised Nuri Curriculum was, the increase of initiative. 59.1% of the parents noticed positive changes in their children, where the most reported was increase in happiness and enjoyment. Both the directors and the teachers cited high child-teacher ratio as their biggest difficulty, and suggested the adjustment of child-teacher ratio as their most demanded policy change.

In the case studies, it was found that in some cases confusion about the implementation of the 2019 revised Nuri Curriculum was experienced, however, most of the directors(vice directors) and teachers received it positively. It was reported that the organizational culture was gradually changing towards a more supportive, communicative, and cooperative atmosphere, although there were differences in degree depending on the characteristics of the kindergartens and childcare centers. With the introduction of the revised curriculum, kindergarten and childcare center teachers perceived the need to improve their professionalism such as the observational ability to comprehend children's play, the ability to enjoy play, quick judgement skills, the ability to ask developmentally appropriate questions, flexibility, sensitivity, initiative, creativity, analytical thinking, etc. Following the implementation of the revised Nuri curriculum, teachers at kindergartens and childcare centers were striving to establish democratic relationships with the children, respecting their choices and attempts. Both kindergartens and daycare centers showed changes that were well suited to the purpose of the revised Nuri Curriculum of strengthening the participation and initiative of the children. On the other hand, some parents were not aware of the change or lacked understanding of play, and some still desired their children to experience learning for elementary school preparation, thus implying the need for more efforts to improve parents' understanding of play. In order to settle the revised Nuri Curriculum, the common demands of kindergarten and childcare center directors and teachers were increase in assistive staff and decrease in the child-teacher ratio. In addition, there were demands for case-oriented training for guiding and supporting children's play rather than theory-based training, training for the establishment of teachers' educational viewpoints, increase in training opportunities for play-oriented curriculum for directors, provision of consultations regarding curriculum that meets individual needs, and increase in budget for Nuri Curriculum implementation support.

The policy direction set based on these research results and the direction pursued in the revised Nuri Curriculum corresponds to that of 2020.

First, to narrow the existing educational gap, the quality of the curriculum provided in the field must be maintained at or above a baseline while encouraging diversity. Secondly, the autonomy of the teachers must be guaranteed, as well as professionalism enhanced and voluntariness to reflect and persevere encouraged. Thirdly, children's participation in the implementation of the curriculum and initiative in play must be enhanced. Fourthly, the reciprocity and cooperation between service providers and parents should be maintained through improving parents' comprehension of play centered curriculum. Lastly, supporting the implementation of curriculum in line with the purpose of Nuri Curriculum despite possible outbreaks of infectious diseases such as COVID-19 and future social changes is needed.

In accordance with these policy directions, policy measures at the governmental and delivery system levels are proposed. On the governmental level, cooperation among and within departments for the support equivalent to elementary and secondary education, adjustment in teacher placement and teacher-child ratio for high quality curriculum implementation, establishment of a training credit bank system for teachers' autonomous training, improvement of service assessment for curriculum implementation support, conduct of research and provision of support for the continuity in early childhood and elementary education, conduct of research and provision of support for children with disabilities, promotion and campaigns to improve public awareness, provision of differentiated support in order to reduce the qualitative gap in Nuri Curriculum implementation are suggested. Regarding the delivery system, provision of customized support for curriculum organization and implementation according to the level of each region, sharing and reciprocating resources through cooperation among local governments, invigoration of advanced training and expert-tailored consultations, provision of support for teachers' autonomous training such as learning communities, sharing best practices and information through the operation of demonstration institutions, etc., support for parent education and encouragement of parent participation are suggested.