한국 영유아 교육·보육 패널 연구 2023 (Korean ECEC Panel Study)

Abstract

The Korean Early Childhood Education and Care Panel Study commenced in 2021 with the objective of collecting data related to the early life growth and development, encompassing caregiving in homes, intrinsic and extrinsic parental factors, educational and caregiving experiences in institutions, and environmental influences from the prenatal stage through infancy, toddlerhood, and early childhood. The objectives of this study are outlined as follows. 1) Collecting data on the developmental characteristics of one-year-old infants, parental and household features, community attributes, caregiving and parenting support service qualities, and policy attributes. 2) Analyzing the growth and development of infants alongside household characteristics to provide fundamental data for drawing implications. 3) Establishing a framework of research data accessible to scholars, field experts, and researchers through the construction of longitudinal data, enabling its utilization in research and practical applications.

In order to proceed with this study, a variety of research methods were completed including literature review, investigation, expert advisory meetings and conference. In the survey focusing on one-year-old infants, households were visited to conduct interviews with primary caregivers, postal (online) surveys were administered to parents, and childcare center teachers attended by the infants were surveyed online. Furthermore, a random sample of 400 households from the entire panel was selected for additional investigations into specific variables.

In the annual report in 2023, we analyzed the data that were collected in 2022 (1st wave) and provided the characteristics of children, parents, households and community. In total, 2,775 panel children have participated in the 1st year of the survey in 2022. The major results of this study are as follows. (Child and parental health) 1) Most households conducted newborn-related examinations, and the vaccination rates were generally high, confirming a thorough and well-implemented preventive approach to child health in birth homes. 2) Concerning parental smartphone overuse, 10.4% of fathers fell into the potential risk group, with 2.5% categorized as high-risk. Among mothers, 12.6% were in the potential risk group, while 3.7% were considered high-risk. (Birth practices / caregiving) 1) Among the mothers, 40.5% had planned cesarean deliveries, 39.3% underwent natural births, and 20.1% experienced unplanned emergency cesarean deliveries during childbirth. The utilization rate of postpartum care centers was 86.2%. 2) Maternal caregiving predominated in nearly all households, but during the evening hours, fathers took care in over 40% of cases. 3) Mothers planning exclusive breastfeeding before childbirth accounted for 24.9%. Within 24 hours after birth, the breastfeeding rate was 31%, declining to under 10% from the seventh month after birth. (Parental work characteristics) The employment rate was 96.1% for fathers and 52.0% for mothers. Compared to the 2008 Korean Children's Panel Study (31.4%), there has been an increase in the maternal employment rate. (Policy characteristics) Fathers favored an increase in allowances or financial support in childcare policies, while mothers preferred strengthening systems enabling parents to care for their children. 1) Among cash support policies, all-day childcare vouchers(idolbom) received the highest satisfaction, and the most highly rated policy was childcare allowances. 2) Among material/voucher support policies, first-meeting vouchers had the highest satisfaction and were rated most important. 3) Usage rates for time support policies were relatively low, around 18% for fathers and 46% for mothers compared to other types of support policies. Satisfaction with telecommuting was highest, and the most highly regarded policy in importance was parental leave.